Release of Thai hostages not settled
PUBLISHED : 24 Nov 2023 at 04:00
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has not confirmed whether Thai workers will be among the first 50 hostages to be released from the custody of Hamas after Israel agreed to a prisoner exchange.
Ministry spokeswoman Kanchana Patarachoke said the ministry had not received information regarding the release of Thai hostages in Gaza.
She said that there is only one woman among the Thai hostages, citing information from the Thai embassy in Tel Aviv. She denied rumours that the woman is pregnant.
“The Thai embassy in Tel Aviv has been following the situation regarding the Thai hostages,” she said. “We also sought clarification from the woman’s family, and they confirmed that the woman is not pregnant.”
At a press conference at the Iranian embassy in Bangkok, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Bagheri Kani discussed the situation in the Middle East.
He was on a two-day visit to Thailand to promote bilateral ties. The visit ended yesterday.
When asked about whether Thai hostages will be released, he said Tehran has been in touch with their “friends” in Hamas since the war between the Palestinian group and Israel broke out on Oct 7.
“Regarding the issue related to hostages, including Thai nationals, the reply we received from the resistance movement is that as long as this war persists and prevails, there is no possibility of releasing the prisoners of war,” he said.
Asked about the possibility of Thai hostages being freed, he said Iran cannot access information from the Gaza Strip as communication was cut so it was necessary to check for information with Israel.
When asked about Israel’s condemnation of Iran for its role in this war, he said Iran would continue to support any movement that serves the rights of people in the world, including Palestinians.
After more than six weeks of war, Israel and Hamas on Wednesday announced there would be a brief ceasefire to allow the release of 50 hostages — women and children — in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and other detainees in Israeli jails.
The hostages were seized from homes along the Israeli border, as well as military bases and a large outdoor music festival. A total of 240 foreigners from 40 countries were taken, including 26 Thais.