Thai hostage: comfort for a lady afraid her partner would perish in the Hamas assault

 Thai hostage: comfort for a lady afraid her partner would perish in the Hamas assault

A lady who thought her lover had perished in the assault on Israel on October 7 has expressed happiness at knowing they would soon be back again.

The BBC was informed by Kittia Thuengsaeng that she identified Vichai Kalapat from television pictures of the ten Thai captives who were freed from Gaza on Friday.

Vichai was suspected of being one of the Thai citizens slain in the Hamas assault.

She said that just five days before, it had been established that her lover was one of the foreign people apprehended.

Kittiya received the heartbreaking news two days after the October 7 assault: her three-year lover, who was thought to be a terrorist, was one of the at least thirty Thai people who had died in the attack.

When the guy she intended to marry returned from his business trip to Israel, she shared sympathy messages for him on social media.

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But Vichai's name was missing from the official list of deceased when it was released.

Kittiya was one of 26 Thai nationals being kept captive in Gaza, he discovered last week after a protracted period of waiting for information.

"I'm very happy because I was afraid he would not be among those released," she told the BBC after seeing the captives being taken alive in the vehicle and being transported over the border to an Israeli hospital.

"I want him to go back to Thailand after he gets well from any mental health issues he may have."

"I can wait for it right now. I can wait a little longer since I've been waiting for so long."

Thai nationals were disproportionately impacted since some 30,000 of them went to Israel in search of employment, mostly in the agriculture industry.

Included in them were 39-year-old Thai citizen Boonthom Pankhong and his girlfriend, Natthavari Mulkan, who were also freed on Friday by Hamas.

Boonthom was the primary provider for his family, bringing money home to Thailand on a regular basis, according to his relatives, who spoke with BBC Thai. He had been employed in Israel for five years before he was abducted.

Boonthom's nephew, who continues to work on a farm in Israel, informed the family of their release, according to his sister Urai Chantachart, who spoke to BBC Thai. The family was "very happy" with the news.

"Our family has been going through a lot for over a month, but we never believed he was dead," he said. We fervently thought he was still alive.

He said that, despite seeming to have lost weight, he believed his brother looked "better than expected" in a State Department picture.

Urai did not know whether he would remain in Israel or go back home with his girlfriend. He said that they are receiving care at Israel's Shamir Medical Center.

In anticipation of learning whether their loved one is among those freed on Friday, other families are waiting impatiently for news.

Thai farmer Natthaporn Onkaew, 26, has a mother named Thongkoon Onkaew. She stated she last talked to her son on October 7, early in the morning, while he was getting ready to play soccer with friends.

"I want my son to be among the first people released," she said. There hasn't been any positive news this unpleasant month."

"I want my son and the other Thai hostages to be safe, I thank all the authorities for their efforts to negotiate the release of the Thai citizens."

Anucha Angkaew, 28,'s wife, Wanida Marsa, stated: "I need to check the news by calling the local representative." I am now inundated with messages."

"If my husband is one of them, I will be very happy."

Prime Minister Shretha Thavisin of Thailand first said that 12 individuals had been freed, but subsequently a government official from Qatar, which acts as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, claimed that only 10.

The deal that calls for Gaza to liberate 50 Israeli detainees during a brief four-day ceasefire also includes the release of the Thai nationals.

Thirteen Israeli citizens, all of them women and children, and one Filipino person were among the first set of hostages to be released.

Israel has freed 39 Palestinian inmates in accordance with the deal.

According to Thailand's Foreign Ministry, its liberated people would be sent to an Israeli hospital and put under medical monitoring for 48 hours, during which they would not be allowed to speak with family.

The Thai Foreign Ministry expressed its sincere congratulations to the freed Thai nationals and their families in a statement, and it promised to do all within its power to quickly bring them back to Thailand.