Why are there so many Thais among Hamas hostages?

The Thai diaspora in Israel has been heavily affected by the conflict between Hamas and the Jewish state. 39 Thais were killed by the Islamist group during the terrorist attacks of October 7. During these massacres, around thirty Thais were also taken hostage, out of a total of 240 hostages. A sad assessment which makes the Thai nation the most represented among the victims and hostages of Hamas, after the Israeli one.

Thais are thus strongly represented among the hostages released since Friday. Fourteen of them were released in two days, while no French hostage has been released to date. Five hostages had also already been released in October, before the truce. Twenty Thais still remained in captivity in Gaza this Sunday, October 26 afternoon.

Their significant presence among the hostages is explained above all by the large number of Thai workers in Israel. Before October 7, some 30,000 Thais worked in the Jewish state, mainly in the agricultural sector, according to the Thai Ministry of Labor. Among them, 5,000 worked in the fields and farms of the kibbutz around the Gaza Strip. However, these are the places which were tragically exposed to the massacres of Hamas terrorists on October 7, as well as to the massive kidnappings that day.

It has been more than ten years since Bangkok signed an agreement with Israel to make it easier for Thais to work in the agricultural sector. The living conditions of these immigrants often leave something to be desired with problems of overtime not paid in full, and lack of heating or air conditioning in cramped accommodation.

Since October 7, thousands of Thai agricultural workers have fled the fields to return to their country, far from the war that has been raging for more than a month now. Their flight led to the abandonment of fields in the kibbutzim and a drop in agricultural production, explains a Figaro reporter on site. “My family wanted me to come back, they are worried,” Pornchai Somnuan, a young 27-year-old Thai, explained to AFP in a hotel in Tel Aviv, from where the evacuations were organized. “I have seven friends. Four have returned, three are still here,” he confided. A total of 8,500 Thai nationals have been repatriated, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It remains to explain Hamas' choice to release Thai hostages as a priority, alongside Israeli hostages.

These releases were in fact made possible by the work of the Thai government which held discussions with regional stakeholders for several weeks. A team of Thai negotiators, mainly Muslims, visited Iran on October 26, where they had direct talks with Hamas officials. Shortly after, the Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs also went to Qatar, the key mediator in the conflict, to meet with his Iranian counterpart.

Bangkok has thus multiplied diplomatic channels, omitting no actor in the region, by highlighting its neutrality on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Thailand established diplomatic relations with the Hebrew State in 1954 and recognized the State Palestinian in 2012. Thus, “talking with Hamas, which de facto governs in Gaza, is the best way to proceed to preserve the lives of the Thais” held hostage, believes academic Roostum Vansu in La Croix.

The Thai government received assurances from Hamas on November 16 that 25 of its nationals held hostage by the Palestinian Islamist movement were “safe,” said a member of the kingdom's negotiating team responsible for the release. hostages. Hamas subsequently assured Bangkok that these hostages “would soon return to their homeland,” according to the Thai political official. “I hope it will be in less than ten days, or even in a few days,” he also said.