Five Thai Hostages freed from Hamas captivity reunite with families in Bangkok

China

Five Thai Hostages freed from Hamas captivity reunite with families in Bangkok

2025-02-09 21:27 Last Updated At：02-10 14:37

Five Thai hostages freed from Hamas captivity have arrived back in Thailand, with the group landing in Bangkok on Sunday and being welcomed home by family members and government representatives.

They were brought to the capital Bangkok after 10 days of medical checks following their release by the Hamas militant group. The hostages had been held -- mostly underground and starved of sunlight, not knowing what fate awaited them -- after being seized by Hamas when it attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

Hamas kidnapped 31 Thai nationals, mostly agricultural workers, making them the largest group of non-Israelis to be taken. Twenty three were released in an earlier ceasefire and one remains a hostage. Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says a total of 46 Thai nationals have been killed in the conflict.

Despite being held captive by Hamas militants for 15 months amidst the Palestine-Israel conflict, the hostages expressed to officials that they never lost hope and consistently believed they would one day be released.

Some family members had traveled to Israel to be reunited, others were waiting for the welcome ceremony to end.

"I'd like to thank everyone who helped secure our freedom, standing here today would not have been possible without their efforts. We are all deeply grateful to be back in our homeland," said Pongsak Thaenna, a released hostage.

"After he was taken he completely disappeared, we had no contact at all. The first time I heard anything was when I was told he'd been released," said Wichayada Saethao, wife of hostage Bannawat Saethao.

The medical center in Israel, where the hostages had been treated, gave them an emotional send-off when their journey home began.

"The tears of joy from the families are the greatest source of encouragement for all the officials involved in securing hostages return," said Maris Sangiampongsa, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs.

One of the mediating nations, Qatar, says it is committed to securing the release of the final Thai hostage.

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