What was behind the release of five Thai hostages?

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged his Thai counterpart to press the Egyptian and Qatari mediators while final deal details were being discussed.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Five Thai hostages were freed on Thursday, along with three Israelis, due to behind-the-scenes diplomatic work of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

About two weeks before the agreement was signed between Israel and Hamas to exchange 33 Israeli hostages for a ceasefire, a withdrawal of IDF forces to the borders of Gaza, and hundreds of Palestinian terrorists, Sa’ar called his Thai counterpart, Maris Sangiampongsa.

He explained the parameters of the incipient deal and told the kingdom’s top diplomat that he believed Thailand could take advantage of it to free at least some Thai hostages as well, just as happened in the previous deal in late November 2023.

At that time, over a period of a week, 86 Israeli women and children out of 251 taken captive on October 7 were freed in return for a temporary ceasefire, increased humanitarian aid, and some 250 female and underage Palestinian prisoners.

During the staged release, 23 of 31 Thai agricultural workers who had been kidnapped from the border kibbutzim where they worked were freed in small groups, without Hamas demanding anything of Thailand in return.

It was reported at the time that Thai officials negotiated for their release through the Iranians, who were not part of any negotiating channel being used by Israel.

This time, Sa’ar recommended that the Thais press the American, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators who were working hard to get the deal across the finish line before President Trump took office.

Sa’ar similarly briefed Nepalese Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, as one citizen from her country is also still held captive in Gaza.

These efforts have seemingly been crowned with partial, if not full, success with the announcement earlier in the week by Hamas that it would free five of the eight remaining Thai hostages.

Their first destination in Israel will be the Shamir Medical Center, where their compatriots were cared for after their release 14 months ago.

“We don’t know what their situation is. It can be very complex, and we are prepared to provide the best medical care,” said hospital director Dr. Osnat Levtzion Korach.

“The fact that they have no families and are foreign citizens means that the hospital staff becomes a family for them upon their return to Israel, with a lot of warmth, love, pampering, and a lot of attention,” she added.

To aid in their psychological rehabilitation, the hospital will provide a Thai-speaking psychologist and interpreters with the assistance of the Thai embassy, with which they are in constant contact, she said.

Also based on previous experience, the hospital has already prepared a small Buddhist temple for the separate complex where the hostages will recuperate in a homey atmosphere, much like their Israeli counterparts.

After this release, there will still be five foreigners left in Hamas captivity, two of whom — a Thai agricultural worker and a Nepalese agricultural student — are believed to be alive. Two other Thais and a Tanzanian agricultural intern are known to be dead.