PUBLISHED : 8 Oct 2023 at 10:12
NAKHON PHANOM: A couple in Pla Pak district of this northeastern border province are certain that, as seen from a picture posted by an online news outlet and widely shared on social media, their son is one of the workers said to have been captured by the Hamas militant forces that launched a major assault on Israel on Saturday.
The picture shows six men, their hands tied to their backs, had been held in captive – with a militant training a rifle at them. Those captured were said to be Thai and Philippine workers at a worksite on the Israeli border.
The couple – Thawatchai and Thongkhoon Onkeaw, both 47 – confirmed that one of the workers held captive by the Hamas is their son – Natthaporn Onkeaw, alias Tui, 26.
The family lives in Ban Nong Saeng, the Moo 5 village, in tambon Na Ma Khua, Pla Pak district.
They said Natthaporn left for Israel to work at a kibbutz in Israel in October 2021 after obtaining a work contract via the Labour Ministry’s Department of Employment and paid about 60,000 baht in total in travel and administrative costs. Under the five-year contract, he was guaranteed a monthly salary of about 50,000 baht.
Mrs Thongkhoon said the family had been in contact on a daily basis with Natthaporn after work via Facebook. But, on Saturday, after the news on the Hamas attack broke out, they tried to contact him, but to no avail. They were also unable to contact with his fellow Thai workers at the kibbutz.
After seeing the picture, they were certain one of them is Natthaporn, she said.
Mrs Thongkhoon said the family has one son, Natthaporn, and a daughter, 12. She said Natthaporn had been the family’s main breadwinner, after his father who also worked in Israel for several years.