Thai hostages freed from Gaza arrive in Bangkok

BANGKOK - The families of Thai farm workers who had been held hostage in Gaza for over a year wept with joy and hugged their loved ones as they arrived in Bangkok on Feb 9.

The five Thais smiled as they walked into the arrivals hall at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after being freed on Jan 30, as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war.

Mr Watchara Sriaoun, Mr Pongsak Tanna, Mr Sathian Suwannakham, Mr Surasak Lamnau and Mr Bannawat Saethao landed in Bangkok at 7.30am (8.30am Singapore time) on Feb 9 and were met by overjoyed relatives and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Pongsak told reporters that he was at a “loss for words” as he saw his family.

“I thank everyone who helped us make it out. We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for them. We can finally return to our motherland,” he said.

Mr Somboon Saethao, the father of Mr Bannawat, said he was “so happy” and that his family would welcome his son home with a traditional Thai ceremony.

“I don’t think I want him to be far from home again,” Mr Somboon, who comes from Nan province in northern Thailand, told AFP.

His son moved to Israel nine months before the kidnapping in search of better income for the family, he added.

Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said it was “very inspiring” to witness the hostages’ return, and that officials would monitor their reintegration into Thai society, “focusing on their mental health”.

“We never gave up on these hostages,” he said during a press conference at the airport.

The five returnees are now making their way to their home towns.

Labour Ministry official Boonsong Tapchaiyut, who was at the airport on Feb 9, said each hostage would receive a one-time payment of around US$18,000 (S$24,400), along with a monthly salary of US$900 until the age of 80, to ensure they did not have to return to Israel.

When Hamas

attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023,

31 Thais were abducted, with 23 released by the end of that year and two confirmed dead in May 2024.

One Thai national is still believed to be alive in Gaza.

The

handover of the five hostages in January

in Khan Younis in southern Gaza was marked by chaotic scenes as Islamic Jihad and Hamas fighters struggled to hold back hundreds of spectators.

After the release, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra

said she was “elated”

that they were out of captivity and thanked Israel, as well as Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Turkey and the United States for their work to secure the releases.

A total of 46 Thai workers have been killed since October 2023, according to the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok, the majority in the Hamas attack and some by rockets fired by Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Thailand’s Labour Ministry said last week that the country will expand its workforce in Israel by 13,000. AFP