Israel confirms only 18 Thais being held hostage by Hamas
Israel has issued a statement saying only 18 Thais are being held hostage by Hamas militants, not 54 as reported earlier, the Thai Foreign Ministry said.
Kanchana Patarachoke, director-general of the ministry’s Department of Information, said on Saturday that the Israel Embassy issued a statement dismissing an earlier Reuters report, saying Hamas was only holding 18 Thais in captivity.
Kanchana said the Thai government also verified this by reaching out to the Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Reuters had previously reported that 54 of the 220 people being held hostage were Thai nationals. The news agency also said 138 hostages held passports from 25 different countries, and Thais were the largest group among them.
The ministry’s latest update shows that, so far, 33 Thai nationals have been killed, along with 18 sustaining injuries and 18 being held hostage.
Of the 33 killed, the remains of 15 have been repatriated.
Separately, as many as 4,771 Thai workers have been brought back, though some have chosen to continue living in the Jewish state, it added.
The ministry, however, is urging everybody to return home, saying they should prioritise their safety above everything else.
