Tears of joy as five Thai hostages held in Gaza are freed

Five Thai farm workers, who were kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th attack on Israel, have been released in Gaza after being held captive for nearly 500 days. They were handed over to the Red Cross in a chaotic scene alongside two Israelis, shortly after the first Israeli hostage was released.

Pongsak Theenok, Sathian Suwannaka, Wachara Sri-on, Bannawat Saitaew, and Surasak Rarmnao were all working in southern Israel when they were abducted in the October 2023 attacks. The Thai Prime Minister expressed her joy at the news of their release, stating that her government is working with Israel "so they can be reunited with their families as soon as possible." One Thai hostage remains unaccounted for.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted on social media, "The Thai government, including all Thai people, have been waiting for this moment." She added, "I still have hope that the remaining Thai citizens will be released and return to us safely and quickly."

For the families of the released hostages, this was a long-awaited day. Wilas Theenok wept with joy after receiving a phone call informing him of his son Pongsak's release. "I never thought this day would come, everything has been quiet for so long," the 65-year-old told the BBC. He revealed he had barely slept the night before, as he was so excited anticipating his son's release. "I don't know how to explain how I got through all of this," he continued. "My son was captured, I lost my wife, I had to be strong. For the first five or six months, I lost a lot of weight. It was painful, I didn't have the strength to do anything or go anywhere. I was always worried. When I see him, I will give him a hug and tell him to come home."

When confirmation came that her son Wachara had been released, Wiwaw Sri-on also cried. "The first thing I want to do is hug my son and tell him how much I missed him," she said. "His daughter, Noody, is also very happy. She has been praying every day for her father to come back." She said that all of Wachara’s relatives had come to her home in Udon Thani province to follow the news closely. "I had hope, but I also lost hope several times," she said, adding that she had received a phone call on Wednesday evening but was unsure if her son was still alive. She also could not sleep and revealed to AFP that she and her husband went to their farm to tap rubber in the early morning.

Sirinna Suwannaka, the sister of released hostage Sathian, said her family was able to maintain hope because they had no evidence of his death. "If he was dead, we would have had a body to perform a ceremony," she said. "But there wasn't. So we never lost hope. We always believed my brother was alive. We never gave up. We have been waiting for him to come home." The released hostages were taken to a hospital in Israel after meeting with Thai government officials. They are expected to return to Thailand within 10 days.

The Thai government had previously stated that 31 Thai workers were taken hostage in the October 2023 attacks. More than 40 were killed that day. According to officials, most were released in November 2023, leaving only eight in Gaza. Two of them are believed to have died, while the fate of the last hostage, Nattapon Phinta, remains unclear. Almost all of the foreign workers kidnapped in the attacks were Thai. Israel employs around 30,000 Thais for agricultural labor, making them one of the largest migrant groups in the country. This release was part of a separate deal between Hamas and the Thai government, not part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement reached on January 19th.