Tommy Walker
The Independent / February 9, 2025
The five returned to Thailand on Sunday after their recent release.
Bangkok – It’s been a long-awaited moment, but some of the last remaining Thai hostages held captive by Hamas are back on home soil.
Five Thai nationals arrived in Bangkok on Sunday, and were greeted by their families in emotional scenes.
The five have been held in war-torn Gaza for over 15 months following the Hamas militant group’s attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.
But Watchara Sriaoun (33), Pongsak Thaenna (36), Sathian Suwannakham (35), Surasak Rumnao (31), and Bannawat Saethao (28), had all been released on 30 January after Israel and Hamas recently agreed a ceasefire, leading to a wider prison exchange.
The five have been in Israel recuperating from their ordeal and receiving medical treatment. They began their journey back to Thailand on Saturday evening, flying from Dubai to Bangkok. Their Emirates EK374 flight landed shortly after 7am on Sunday.
As the five arrived, escorted by Thailand’s foreign minister and government officials, the group emotionally clamped their hands together in prayer, a Buddhist custom, before tearfully opening their arms to their waiting families.
They had been held in captivity for 482 days.
Mr Pongsak, one of the five hostages, said it was an overwhelming feeling to be home as he spoke with a crowd of reporters from outlets including The Independent in the airport’s arrivals hall.
“Thank you to the ministry for getting us back today, without their help we wouldn’t be back. It is an overwhelming feeling, so thank you very much,” he said.
The five had been working in Israel, close to the Gaza border, when they were kidnapped by Hamas militants. They were part of a group of 31 foreign nationals who were taken. Twenty-three of the group have since been released.
Speaking at the airport on Sunday, the Thai foreign minister Maris Sangiampongsa, who travelled to Israel to visit the five shortly after their release, welcomed them home and thanked all those involved in making their return possible.
“Today is a very emotional day. It is the most pleasing news to see the Thai nationals return to their homeland. The ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of labour, all the agencies together and the prime minister, we never gave up hope.
“The tears of joy are our encouragement. We thank all the friendly countries that have helped make today happen. Family is the most important. As you can say they are all healthy, but mental health will be the next important thing. We will continue to support,” he said.
Following the press conference, the five agricultural workers and their families quickly left the airport and began the last leg of their journey home to Thailand’s northern regions.
Dozens of Thais have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Thailand’s ministry of foreign affairs says the total is now 46, including two during the 7 October attacks.
One Thai national, Nattapong Pingsa, remains unaccounted for.
“We will do our utmost to have the remaining hostages returned to Thailand, as well as the remains of those two who have passed away,” Mr Maris added.
Thousands of Thais live in Israel, most of them migrants working in agriculture. Before the war, there were around 30,000 Thais living in the country.
The first group of Thai workers returned days after the conflict began, with 41 returning to Bangkok on two flights. Around 7,000 Thais have returned home since then.
But the war hasn’t prevented other Thais from seeking work in Israel. According to officials, there are now more than 38,000 living in the country. Thai nationals remain the largest group of foreign agricultural labourers in Israel, mainly because they can earn higher wages in Israel than at home.
Tommy Walker is a freelance reporter based in Thailand
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‘We never gave up’: tears and elation as freed Thai hostages return home from Gaza
TG Staff
The Guardian / February 9, 2025
The group of five workers were greeted at Bangkok airport by overjoyed family members and officials after being held for over a year in Gaza.
The families of five Thai farm workers held hostage in Gaza for over a year wept with joy and hugged their loved ones as they arrived in Bangkok on Sunday.
The group smiled as they walked into the arrivals hall at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport after being freed on 30 January as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Israel-Gaza war.
The five workers – Watchara Sriaoun, Pongsak Tanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnau and Bannawat Saethao – landed in Bangkok early Sunday morning and were met by a small group of overjoyed relatives and officials from the ministry of foreign affairs.
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.
Somboon Saethao, the father of 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,” said Somboon, who comes from Nan province in northern Thailand.
Bannawat moved to Israel nine months before his kidnap in search of a better income for the family, he added.
Foreign minister Maris Sangiampongsa said it was “very inspiring” to witness their 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.
Boonsong Tapchaiyut, a labour ministry official said that each hostage would receive a one-time payment of about $18,000 (600,000 baht), along with a monthly salary of $900 until the age of 80, to ensure they did not have to return to Israel.
When Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, 31 Thais were abducted, with 23 released by the end of that year and two confirmed dead in May.
One Thai national is still believed to be alive in Gaza.
The handover of the five hostages last month 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, 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 US 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.
With Agence France-Presse
