Mother of Thai hostage Surasak Lamnao informed he’s about to be freed

Khammee Lamnao, the mother of Thai hostage Surasak Lamnao, said the Thai embassy in Israel had called her Wednesday to let her know her son was one of the five who were to be released.

“I cannot wait to see my son,” the 53-year-old said. “I’ve been waiting for him for a year and five months.”

Surasak had been working in the agricultural sector in Israel for 15 months when he was taken hostage during the October 2023 attack.

Thirty-one Thai nationals are believed to have been taken hostage when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Of those, 23 have been released, two have been confirmed to have died and six more are believed to be still in Hamas captivity.

Five are due to be released today, and it is not clear at the moment what the status of the sixth person is.