Four Thai nationals killed near Israel-Lebanon border

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In: South-East Asia

Labour Ministry to facilitate evacuation of Thais in Israel-Lebanon border

PUBLISHED : 1 Nov 2024 at 11:04

UPDATED : 1 Nov 2024 at 11:50

Smoke and flames rise in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Sohmor, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, on Oct 30, 2024. (File photo: Reuters)
Smoke and flames rise in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Sohmor, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, on Oct 30, 2024. (File photo: Reuters)

Four Thai agricultural workers were killed and one was injured by rocket fire near Metula, Israel’s northernmost town bordering Lebanon, Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Sangiampongsa posted on the social media platform X on Friday.

“I instructed our embassy in Tel Aviv last night to extend all possible assistance to the injured and the families of the deceased, and to express my profound condolences to them for their immense loss,” Mr Maris wrote in the post.

In response to the incident, Labour Minister Phipat Ratchakitprakarn said on Friday that he instructed the ministry’s permanent secretary, Boonsong Thapchaiyuth, to coordinate with the labour attaché in Tel Aviv to facilitate the evacuation of all Thai workers from northern Israel to safer areas in the south.

Mr Phiphat said he also ordered labour officials to visit the families of the victims to provide assistance and compensation.

According to reports, two rockets hit open ground near Metula, leading to seven deaths. Among the victims, one was an Israeli farmer and four were Thai workers.

Last month, one Thai worker was found dead, and another suffered a severe concussion after an anti-tank rocket was fired at the Kibbutz Yir’on Agricultural Estate in northern Israel.

Last year, 41 Thais were among the 1,200 people killed when Hamas militants launched an attack across Israeli borders, according to Israeli authorities.

Thirty Thai nationals were abducted during the attack on Oct 7, 2023, and six are believed to still be in captivity, according to Thai authorities.

The Israeli response to the attack has since laid waste to the Palestinian territory of Gaza and killed tens of thousands of people. Israel has also launched attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Before the conflict, about 30,000 Thai nationals worked in Israel, mostly in the agriculture sector, making up one of the largest groups of migrant workers in Israel.