Paweena Ninbut and Jiraporn Sricham de la BBC Thai and Flora Druryrurting Frombangkok and Londonbbc
Five Thai agricultural workers who were kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel were released after being detained for almost 500 days in Gaza.
They were given to the Red Cross during the chaotic scenes with two Israelis, shortly after the release of an Israeli first hostage.
Pongsak Thana, Sathian Suwankham, Watchara Seraun, Bannawat Seathao and I Surf to all Ben working in southern Israel when they are kidnapped during attacks in October
The Thai Prime Minister said that she was delighted to hear the news of their liberation and that his government worked with Israel “so that they could find their families as soon as possible.” A Thai hostage remains not counted.
“The Thai government, including everyone here in Thailand, has been waiting for this very moment for a long time,” said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on social networks.
“I want my hope that the remaining Thai national will be released and will return to us safely and quickly.”
For the families of the released hostages, it was one day that they had been waiting for a long time.
Wilas Thaenna cried after receiving a call to say that his son Pongsak was released on Thursday.
“I never thought that this day would come, everything has been too silent for some time,” said the 65 -year -old BBC.
He revealed that he had barely slept the previous night because he was so excited by the release of his son.
“I don’t know how to explain how I went through everything that happened,” he continued.
“My son was caught, I lost my wife, I had to stay strong.
“The first five or six months, I lost so much weight. It was painful, I had no strength to do anything or go anywhere. I was worried all the time .
“When I see him, I’m going to hug him and tell him to go home.”
Reuters
Wiwwaew Sriaoun thanked God for the release of his son
Wiwwaew Sriaoun also sobbed because he was confirmed that his son Watchara had been released.
“The first thing I want to do is tighten my son in my arms and tell him that I miss a lot,” she said. “Her daughter, Nudee, was also happy. She prayed every day to make her dad come back.”
She said that all those close to Watchara had come to her house in the province of Udon Thani to closely monitor the news.
“I had hope, but I also lost hope several times,” she said, adding that she had received a call on Wednesday evening, but I did not know if her Son would still be alive. She was also able to sleep, revealing to the AFP news agency that she and her husband had been hitting their farm in the early hours of the morning.
Sirinna Suwannakham, the younger sister of Freed Octage Sathian, said that her family had only managed to keep hope in life because they had no evidence that he had been killed.
“If he was dead, we would have had a body to organize a ceremony,” she said. “But there was not some. So we never lost hope. We always believed that my brother was still alive. We have never abandoned. We have always waited for him to come home. “”
Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv
This photo of the five men was shared by the Thai embassy in Israel
The released hostages will now be transported to the hospital in Israel, after being met by representatives of the Thai government.
Thirty -one Thai workers were taken hostage during the October 2023 attacks, said the Thai government previously. 39 others were killed during the day.
The majority was released in November 2023, leaving only eight in Gaza, according to officials. It is believed that two have died since, while the spell of the final hostage – Nattapong Pinta – is not known.
Almost all foreign workers removed during the attack were Thai. Israel employs about 30,000 as agricultural work, making it one of the largest groups of migrants in the country.
Liberation is part of a separate agreement between Hamas and the Thai government-it is not part of the ceasefire agreement of Israel-Hamas concluded on January 19.
