Thai hostages: ‘Jewish hostages beaten with electric cables, held in worse conditions than us’
Jewish hostages were held in tougher conditions than Thai hostages and were beaten with electric cables, according to a report on N12 on Wednesday evening. According to the report, Thai hostages released by Hamas in recent days told Israeli security personnel: “Occasionally, we were put in captivity with the Israelis, they were constantly guarded. [Hamas] had a tougher attitude towards the Jews, they were beaten with electric cables.”
One of them added, according to the report, “We ate one pita a day, and a can of tuna was divided among four people.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara welcomed on Wednesday the release of two more Thai hostages who had been held by Hamas in Gaza, the latest to be freed under a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.
“Happy to personally welcome two additional Thai hostages who have just released and arrived at the hospital in Tel Aviv,” Parnpree, who is also deputy prime minister, posted on social media platform X.
“A totally warm feeling to see how the former 17 were lining up to welcome and give moral support to the two newcomers,” he said.
Nineteen Thai hostages have so far been released, while the foreign ministry says 13 more remain in captivity. There were 39 Thai nationals killed in the October 7 massacre by Hamas.
Thai Muslim group claims credit for hostages’ release
A Thai Muslim group that spoke directly with Hamas said on Monday that its efforts were key to ensuring Thai hostages were among the first to be released. A Thai foreign ministry spokesperson said multiple actors were consulted.
Before the Israel-Hamas war, about 30,000 Thai laborers worked in Israel’s agriculture sector, comprising one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country.
Nearly 9,000 have been repatriated, according to the government.
The Thai citizens released are slated to return home this week as Parnpree visits Israel.
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