Watch: First Thai hostages released by Hamas arrive home after seven weeks in captivity

Holly Patrick
Thursday 30 November 2023 08:19 GMT
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Watch as the first Thai hostages arrive in Bangkok on Thursday, 30 November, after they were released from Hamas captivity.

Twenty-three Thai nationals have so far been released after they were held for almost two months after the attack on Israel on 7 October.

Thailand's foreign ministry says 13 more remain in captivity.

Before the Israel-Hamas conflict, around 30,000 Thai labourers worked in Israel's agriculture sector as one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country.

Officials in Thailand say Hamas gunmen from Gaza killed 39 Thais during the brutal incursion.

Thailand's foreign minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara held back tears as he met released hostages on Wednesday and said he hoped for freedom soon for the remaining 13 people.

"We are not part of the conflict," Parnpree told Reuters, adding that there were no conditions for the hostages' release.

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