Released Thai hostages return to Bangkok after being held for over a year in Gaza

BANGKOK (AP) — Five Thai workers released after being held hostage for over a year in Gaza arrived in Bangkok on Sunday.

Sarusak Rumnao, 32, Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Sathian Suwannakham, 35, Pongsak Thaenna, 36, and Bannawat Saethao, 27, were freed on Jan. 30 as part of an exchange arrangement.

They were embraced by family members, some of whom cried, in the arrivals hall at Suvarnabhumi airport. Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sagniampongsa and the Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Orna Sagiv were both at the airport to welcome home the freed hostages.

“We are all very grateful and very happy that we get to return to our homeland. We all would really like to thank you. I don’t know what else to say,” Pongsak told a news conference at the airport.

Maris said the Thai government “never gave up hope and here is the result today. The tears of joy are our encouragement.” He added that Bangkok would continue working to secure the release of the remaining Thai hostage.

The group quickly left the news conference to return to their hometowns in Thailand’s northern and northeastern regions.

They were the second batch of Thai hostages released since the war broke out. During an earlier ceasefire in November 2023, 23 Thai nationals were released in a deal negotiated between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran.

All five men were assessed at a hospital outside Tel Aviv prior to their return. Four of them were joined by one relative each earlier this week. The trip was sponsored by the Israeli government, according to the Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Hamas militants kidnapped 31 Thai nationals during the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel, making them the largest group of foreigners held captive. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first.

A total of 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, including two Thai citizens who were killed during the attack and their bodies taken into Gaza, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

There was no immediate information available about Nattapong Pingsa, who is the last Thai hostage left in Gaza, nor the two Thai workers whose bodies were taken into Gaza.

Maris, the Thai foreign minister, traveled to Israel to visit the five freed men shortly after their release. Maris met with his Israeli counterparts seeking support to secure the release of the remaining Thai hostage and retrieve the bodies of the two deceased Thais.

Thai workers remain the largest group of foreign agricultural laborers in Israel. The countries implemented a bilateral agreement a decade ago specifically easing the way for Thai agricultural workers. Many Palestinian workers had since returned, and before the Hamas attack about half of Israel’s workforce was made up of foreign and Palestinian laborers.