First Batch of Thai Hostages Released, State They Were Not Abused and Had Good Food. | WPN World People News

A four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect at 7:00 p.m. local time on the 24th, and 10 of the 24 hostages released on the first day of Hamas were Thai, who laughed, said they had not been mistreated, and claimed they had been well-fed, through video messages with their families.

According to Reuters, among the first nine men and one woman to be released as Thai hostages, Vetoon Phoome, 33, who has worked in Israel for five years, said he had been imprisoned in a tunnel even though he had repeatedly shouted "Thailand, Thailand" at the armed men during his captivity. After his release, he spoke to his sister, Roongarun Wichagern, via video message, reassuring her that he was about to return home and telling his mother that it was a miracle he had not died.

Among the foreign migrant workers in Israel, there are about 30,000 Thais, most of whom work on farms. In addition, the first Thai hostage to be released was the only woman, who came from a poor rural area in Thailand and worked in an Israeli factory. According to a photo provided by the Thai Foreign Ministry, the hostage was examined at an Israeli medical center and had to stay in the hospital for 48 hours for observation before returning home. According to a source, the release of the Thai hostages was not related to the truce, but was the result of independent negotiations with Hamas brokered by the Thai government through Egypt and Qatar.

In the 4-day ceasefire agreement, Hamas will release 50 hostages, 24 in the first wave on the 24th and 17 on the 25th, and Israel will also release 150 Palestinian prisoners. Thai authorities claimed that 14 Thai hostages have already been released and 16 are still being held. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said that the foreign minister and army chief of staff will go to Israel to retrieve the released hostages, emphasizing that efforts to secure the safe release of the others are still ongoing.