Thai hostages in Israel reach 22 amid escalating Gaza conflict

The number of Thai workers held hostage during the recent attack by Hamas on Israel has escalated to 22, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. The latest confirmation of three additional abductions was disclosed by the Foreign Ministry.

The 61 year old prime minister relayed this information while addressing journalists at the Wing 23 air terminal at Udon Thani Airport, just before his official trip to Laos.

He pointed out that hostilities in Israel had intensified due to Israel’s retaliatory ground offensive, which made movement in the conflict zone increasingly challenging.

PM Srettha urged Thai workers who remained in Israel to promptly get in touch with Thai authorities for evacuation arrangements before the situation deteriorated further.

Efforts were underway by Thai officials to negotiate the release of the Thai hostages. This included the…