Israeli doctors say five released Thai hostages in “fair” health after 15 months of captivity

BEER YAAKOV, Israel (AP) — When the mother of one of the Thai hostages held in the Gaza Strip for over a year caught sight of her son on a Facebook livestream after his release Thursday, he had changed so much that she didn’t recognize him at first.

Surasak Rumnao, 32, who was kidnapped from the southern Israeli town of Yesha on Oct. 7, 2023, looked pale and puffy, said his mother, Khammee Lamnao.

“I was so happy that I could not eat anything. His father brought some food to me but I did not want to eat at all,” Khammee said on a video call with The Associated Press after the release of her son.

Dozens of Israeli doctors, nurses and representatives from Israel and Thailand waved flags, sang and cheered Thursday as the five Thai hostages stepped off a military helicopter and entered a hospital outside Tel Aviv, where they will spend a few days undergoing medical tests and recuperating. Three Israelis were also released on Thursday, and Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners in the exchange.

Besides Sarusak, Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Sathian Suwannakham, 35, Pongsak Thaenna, 36, and Bannawat Saethao, 27, were released in Thursday’s exchange.

Hamas militants kidnapped 31 Thai nationals during the assault on southern Israel, making them the largest group of foreigners held captive. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first.

During an earlier ceasefire in November 2023, 23 Thai nationals were released in a deal negotiated between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran.

According to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, including two Thai citizens who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023 and their bodies taken into Gaza.

Dr. Osnat Levzion-Korach, the director of Shamir Medical Center outside Tel Aviv where the five were taken, said they were in “fair” health, though most were held underground and were not exposed to sunlight for extended periods of time. She said they did not appear to be malnourished and credited their young age with helping them survive captivity in fairly good physical shape.

Thailand’s ambassador to Israel, Pannabha Chandraramya, said she facilitated video calls between the hostages and their families after they arrived at the hospital, describing them as incredibly emotional, with shouts of joy and tears. She said it was “one of the happiest days of her life,” to see their release just a week before she ends her five-year term.

Pannabha said there was no immediate information available about the last Thai hostage left in Gaza, Nattapong Pingsa, nor the two Thai workers whose bodies were taken into Gaza.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra thanked Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, the United States, Israel, and the Red Cross, for helping to negotiate the Thais’ release in a separate deal from the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. He said Thailand’s minister of foreign affairs would travel to Israel this weekend.

Ambassador Pannabha said the Thai government may bring some relatives of the released hostages to Israel, though many don’t have passports, and that the government would help those released return home as soon as they are medically cleared to travel.

Israel will recognize the released Thai hostages as terror victims, a designation that entitles them to financial benefits and health care, said Alex Gandler, the deputy spokesperson of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said Israel’s ambassador in Thailand visited some of the hostages released in the previous ceasefire deal on Thursday and that the Israeli government maintains contact with them. Gandler added that since the released Thais did not have family in Israel to greet them upon their release, some of their former employers came to meet them at the hospital.

Gandler said Israel is committed to releasing all the hostages, regardless of nationality. There are still one Thai, one Nepali and one Tanzanian hostage, as well as the bodies of a Tanzanian and the two Thais being held in Gaza, according to the prime minister’s office. Israel hopes all the international hostages will be released, both living and dead, Gandler said, which Israel and Hamas will begin discussing next week.