"If we did like in the movies, the hostages would be in grave danger,": Parnpree
On Tuesday night, two Thai workers recently released from captivity in Gaza by Hamas arrived at a hospital in Be'er Ya'akov, Israel, to join 17 other farm workers. As soon as they saw each other, they all huddled up into an embrace.
"We survived! we survived!" they cheered, as one was seen wiping away tears.
The release of the Thai hostages on Nov. 24, the first day of the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire, came as a surprise to many. It came through a vigorous push by the Thai Foreign Ministry, said its minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, and a lot of behind-the-scenes talks with various counterparts from the Middle Eastern countries who can communicate with the Islamist militant group that occupies Gaza.
"If we did like in the movies, the hostages would be in grave danger. From what I'm told, they are scattered in various areas. If we went into gung-ho mode to save the hostages, it would have endangered other hostages in other areas," Parnpree told Reuters in an exclusive interview in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
Without revealing which countries he was in direct contact with, the top Thai diplomat said upon hearing the news of the first group of hostages' release on Friday, he was wondering why Thais were not on the list.
Shortly afterwards, he received the good news from his sources even before the news broke.
"I get updates sporadically and I get the alerts before anyone else - that 10 (workers) are being released, four have been released, three have been released and then 2 have been released," said Parnpree. "I was able to gauge which country has the most accurate information and that they were really able to connect with Hamas."
He added that diplomacy played the key role in Thais getting swiftly released from captivity compared to other nationalities who were among the hostages. In his perspective, it also plays a crucial role in places where there are high geopolitical conflicts.
Thailand said Palestinian Hamas gunmen from Gaza killed 39 Thais during an Oct. 7 rampage into Israel where around 30,000 Thai labourers had been working in the agriculture sector, one of Israel's largest migrant worker groups.
The Thai foreign ministry said three Thais were being treated for wounds in the hospital. Of the 32 taken hostage, 13 remain in captivity.
"In terms of happiness out of a hundred, we are at 50 %. In the other half, we pin on the hope that the remaining 13 will be released soon. Until then, we'd feel a relief that all Thais that were captive are out of harm," Parnpree told Reuters.
Israel says Hamas killed 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages back to Gaza on Oct. 7. More than 15,000 people have been killed in Israel's military campaign, say Palestinian health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.
Reuters
