Five Thai workers, held hostage in Gaza for over a year, have arrived in Bangkok. The five workers, Sarusak Rumnao, 31, Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Sathian Suwannakham, 35, Pongsak Thaenna, 36, and Bannawat Saethao, 27, were released on January 30 as part of an exchange agreement.
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02-11, 2025They were greeted with hugs from their families in the arrival hall at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sunday, with some family members weeping with joy. Sarusak Rumnao left his home in Udon Thani province, Thailand, three years ago to work in agriculture in the southern Israeli town of Yesha. His mother, Khammee Rumnao, expressed relief that her son had not been mistreated.
"He mainly ate bread. He was well taken care of, and he ate three meals a day," she said, adding that he ate the food provided by his captors. "He could take showers, and he was well taken care of." She stated that her son does not plan to return to Israel and instead wants to apply the agricultural knowledge he gained in Israel to his family's agricultural production.
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa and Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Orna Sagiv were both at the airport to welcome the released hostages back to the country. "We are all very grateful and happy to be back in our homeland. We are all very grateful to you. I don't know what to say," Mr. Thaenna said at a press conference at the airport. Sangiampongsa said the Thai government "never gave up hope, and today's result is proof of that." "Tears of joy are our encouragement," he said. He also added that Bangkok will continue to work to ensure the release of the remaining Thai hostages.
This group is the second group of Thai hostages to be released since the outbreak of the war. During a ceasefire earlier in November 2023, 23 Thai nationals were released in an agreement between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran. Hamas militants abducted 31 Thai nationals in their October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, making them the largest group of foreign nationals held captive. Many Thai agricultural workers resided in kibbutzim and farmsteads outside towns in southern Israel, which Hamas militants initially overran. Prior to the conflict, approximately 30,000 Thai workers were employed in Israel's agricultural sector, making them one of the country's largest groups of foreign laborers. Nearly 9,000 Thais were repatriated following the attack.
According to the Thai Foreign Ministry, a total of 46 Thais have died during the conflict, including two Thai citizens who died in the attacks and whose bodies were taken to Gaza. There is currently no information about Nattapong Pingsa, the last remaining Thai hostage in Gaza, and the two Thai workers whose bodies were taken into Gaza.
