Following the release of five Thai citizens held hostage by Hamas for over 480 days, President Isaac Herzog met on Sunday with Thailand’s Foreign Minister, Maris Sangiampongsa at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
President Herzog welcomed the return of the five hostages, and stressed his - and the people of Israel’s deep concern for the fate of all the remaining hostages, and the supreme imperative of securing the release of all the hostages from Gaza.
President Herzog said: “They are our brothers. Everywhere we went, in all the villages that we visited that were attacked on October 7, there were pictures and signs of the Thai workers along with the Israelis held in brutal captivity by Hamas in Gaza.”
The President stressed, “Our main aim is to complete the hostage deal in full, according to the agreement. That means that the second phase should be implemented, and we are working towards that, and we see that as a top priority.”
Foreign Minister Sangiampongsa thanked the President and said: “I wish to express a message on behalf of my government, to say how much we appreciate the collaboration and assistance that the Government of Israel extended to the Government of Thailand. I met the returned hostages yesterday. Physically they are doing well but we cannot know yet the damage caused by being held captive for over a year. They were held in tunnels, and we worry for their mental and physical wellbeing.”
The Foreign Minister noted, “This close cooperation is an opportunity to promote a stronger link between our peoples, to radiate a message of love between our nations, and to greatly increase the cooperation between us, government to government, people to people.”