Five held in Gaza released by Hamas

Five Thai agricultural workers who were kidnapped during the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel have been released after being held for almost 500 days in Gaza.

They were delivered to the Red Cross During chaotic scenes along with two IsraelisShortly after an Israeli first hostage was released.

Pongsak Thaenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Saethao and Surak Lamnao had been working in southern Israel when they were kidnapped during the attacks in October 2023.

Thailand’s prime minister said she was euphoric when she listened to news of her liberation and that her government was working with Israel “so that they can meet with their families as soon as possible.” A Thai hostage remains without an account.

“The Thai government, including all here in Thailand, have been waiting for a long time,” published Prime Minister Paetongtran Shinawatra on social networks.

“I cling to my hope that the remaining national Thai be released and returned to us safely and quickly.”

For the families of the hostages launched, it was a day they had been waiting for a long time.

Wilas Thaenna cried after receiving a call to say that his son Pongsak had been released on Thursday.

“I never thought that this day I would arrive, everything has been too quiet for a while,” said the 65 -year -old man at the BBC.

He revealed that he had barely slept the night before, since he was so excited about the perspective that his son was released.

“I don’t know how to explain how I overcome everything that happened,” he continued.

“My son was taken captive, I lost my wife, I had to stay loud.

“The first five or six months, I lost so much weight. It was distressing, I had no strength to do anything or go anywhere. I was worried all the time.

“When I see it, I’m going to hug him and tell him to return home.”

Wiwwaew Sriaoun also sobbed, since it was confirmed that his son Watchara had been released.

“The first thing I want to do is hug my son and tell him to miss him a lot,” he said. “Her daughter, Nudee, was also happy. She has been praying every day for her dad to return.”

She said that all Watchara’s relatives have come home in the province of Udon Thani to closely monitor the news.

“I had hopes, but I also lost hope several times,” he said, adding that he received a call on Wednesday night, but he wasn’t sure if his son would still be alive. She couldn’t sleep either, revealing to the AFP news agency that she and her husband had played the rubber on her farm in the early hours of the morning.

Sirinna Suwannakham, the younger sister of the hostages released Sathian, said her family had only managed to keep hope alive because they had no evidence that they had killed him.

“If he had died, we would have had a body to celebrate a ceremony,” he said. “But there was none. So we never lost hope. We always believed that my brother was still alive. We never gave up. We always wait for him to return home.”

The released hostages will now be taken to the hospital in Israel, after being fulfilled by Thai government officials.

Thirty -one Thai workers were taken as hostages in the attacks of October 2023, said the Thai government previously. Another 39 were killed in the day.

Most were released in November 2023, leaving only eight in Gaza, according to officials. It is believed that two have died since then, while the fate of the final hostage, Nattapong Pinta, is not known.

Almost all foreign workers kidnapped during the attack were Thais. Israel uses about 30,000 of them as agricultural work, which makes them one of the largest migrant groups in the country.

The statement is part of a separate agreement between Hamas and the Thai government: it is not part of the Alto El Fuego de Israel Agreement -Ramas agreed on January 19.