Their release was outside of truce between Israel and Hamas, in which 13 Israelis were freed for 39 Palestinians
A vehicle believed to be carrying captives abducted by Hamas arrives at the Rafah border with Egypt, as seen from southern Gaza Strip, November 24, 2023 [Reuters TV via Reuters]
Hamas has released a group of 10 Thai nationals and one citizen from the Philippines who were being held in Gaza, as part of a separate agreement to the one between Israel and the Palestinian group that saw Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being freed.
Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson of the foreign ministry in Qatar – which has played a key mediating role – said on Friday that the Thai nationals and Filipino were among a total of 24 captives who were released.
The Thai nationals, he said, were “currently on their way out of the strip” with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
They were not covered by the truce deal between Hamas and Israel, and Qatar and Egypt mediated a separate deal with Hamas, Thai officials said.
That negotiation track was opened when Thailand’s foreign minister visited Qatar on October 31, which led to a specific agreement with Hamas to release the Thais, the officials added. Thai nationals were the single biggest group of foreigners taken captive.
But Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted earlier on X that he had received confirmation of the release of 12 nationals and that Thai embassy officials were to pick them up.
The group was brought to Rafah and then to the Karem Abu Salem crossing, called Kerem Shalom by Israel, east of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. They were transported to a processing point at the Hatzerim Air Force base and were to be taken to the Shamir Medical Centre, southeast of Tel Aviv.
“At this time, the gender and names of these Thais are not known,” the ministry statement said.
Apart from Qatar and Egypt, the ministry also thanked Israel, Iran, Malaysia and the ICRC.
