Agam Berger, a 20-year-old soldier, was handed over first at a site in the heavily destroyed urban refugee camp of Jabaliya in northern Gaza, followed hours later by two more Israelis and five Thai farm workers who were handed over amid a chaotic crowd in the city of Khan Younis.
It’s the third such exchange since a ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip earlier this month.
The tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is aimed at ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of dozens of hostages held by the militant group, as well as hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned or detained by Israel.
Netanyahu condemns chaos during the release of hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the chaotic scenes at the site of a second hostage release in Gaza on Thursday.
Seven hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis and were then transferred to Israeli forces, the Israeli military said. Their release was delayed after armed militants struggled to contain the large Palestinian crowds that gathered around the Red Cross cars. The hostages were eventually led through the crowd surrounded by a ring of gunmen.
“I view with utmost severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office shortly after the handover was completed. He said he “demands that the mediators make certain that such terrible scenes do not recur and guarantee the safety of our hostages.”
Israeli Red Cross says it has received 7 more hostages
The Israeli army said the Red Cross has reported receiving seven more hostages, including two Israelis and five Thais, hours after an Israeli soldier was handed over at another location.
Israel protests chaotic scenes surrounded hostage release
Israeli officials have filed an angry complaint to international mediators over chaotic scenes surrounding the release of hostages.
An Israeli official confirmed the protest, speaking on condition of anonymity because the release was still taking place.
Militants lead second hostage through crowd ahead of release
Militants led Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud through a chaotic crowd in Gaza ahead of her release, hours after Hamas handed a captive Israeli soldier over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip. Yehoud was at the centre of the dispute about the sequence of releases that briefly rocked the ceasefire over the weekend. Israel says she was supposed to have been freed Saturday and delayed the opening of crossings to northern Gaza when she was not.
Thai ambassador says she’s ‘holding her breath’
BEER YAAKOV, Israel — Thailand’s ambassador to Israel said she was “holding her breath” along with the entire country of Israel for the release of five Thai agricultural workers who were kidnapped on Oct. 7.
“We have nothing to do with this conflict, they just happened to be there, and they are working tirelessly on the farms and kibbutzes,” said Ambassador Pannabha Chandraramya as she watched footage from Gaza at the Israeli hospital where the Thai workers will be brought upon their return to Israel.
She added that despite the war, Thai agricultural workers are continuing to come to Israel. Prior to the attack, less than 30,000 Thai workers were in Israel, mostly in the agricultural sector, and that number has grown to 38,000 today.
Pannabha said the Thai government had notified the families of all six surviving Thai hostages because they were not sure which five would be released. The bodies of another two Thai hostages who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023, are also being held in Gaza.
The Shamir Medical Center, outside of Tel Aviv, has a number of Thai-speaking social workers and psychologists to assist the hostages being released.
Mother of Thai hostage hears he’s about to be freed
BANGKOK — Khammee Lamnao, the mother of Thai hostage Surasak Lamnau, said the Thai embassy in Israel had called her Wednesday to let her know her son was one of the five who were to be released.
“I cannot wait to see my son,” the 53-year-old said. “I’ve been waiting for him.”
Surasak had been working in the agricultural sector in Israel for 15 months when he was taken hostage during the October 2023 attack.
Thirty-one Thai nationals are believed to have been taken hostage when Hamas attacked Israel in October, 2023. Of those, 23 have been released, and two of the remaining hostages have been confirmed dead.
Five surviving hostages are due to be released, and it is not clear at the moment what the status of the sixth person is.
There were about 30,000 Thai workers — mostly laborers in the agricultural sector — in Israel prior to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, when militants stormed through a border fence and killed hundreds of Israelis and foreign nationals, including 41 Thai workers.
At least 7,000 Thai workers are known to have returned home on government evacuation flights, but many others decided to stay for the opportunity to earn wages far higher than at home.
AP
Photo by Reuters