One Thai killed, 11 held hostage in Hamas attack on Israel: PM
One Thai citizen was killed and 11 Thais were taken hostage in the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas militants, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said.
The Hamas-led attacks on Saturday has left hundreds dead.
The PM told reporters on Sunday that the Israeli ambassador to Thailand had updated him on the situation at 4am on Sunday. He said it was not known yet where the Thais were being held hostage.
According to the Thai Ministry of Labour, two Thai workers, aged 36 and 39, were from Udon Thani province. The ministry was also aware of one Thai labourer in Mishmeret, an agricultural community in central Israel, being injured after being shot by the militants.
Srettha said that the Royal Thai Air Force was prepared to evacuate Thai citizens living in the Jewish state via the C-130 aircraft, but said Israel had closed its airspace.
Following the massive surprise attack by terrorists from Gaza on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of emergency and said that his country was "at war" with Hamas.
Srettha said that he was now working to aid Thai citizens stranded in the battle zone. He added: “They [Thai people] are innocent people who are not engaged in hostilities.”
He also expressed concern at the lack of capability to transport Thais back to their homeland, saying the Royal Thai Air Force plane could carry merely 423 people, but the number of Thais in Israel was around 25,000, an estimated 5,000 of them residing in the conflict area.
A meeting of the related agencies will be held on Sunday afternoon.
Srettha added that Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara had postponed his scheduled travel to many Asian countries from October 8 -12.
