BANGKOK: The body of a Thai farm labourer killed during the Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel and held by Hamas in Gaza was repatriated to Thailand on Thursday (Oct 23), officials said.
The remains of Sonthaya Oakkharasri arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport from Tel Aviv on Thursday evening, part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli authorities confirmed this week that they had received Sonthaya’s body and formally identified him.
Under the truce, Hamas has returned the final 20 surviving hostages it was holding and so far released 15 of another 28 who died.
Nearly 30,000 Thais work in Israel, according to Thailand’s labour ministry, mostly in the agricultural sector.
Sonthaya was 30 years old and worked at the Beeri kibbutz when he was killed in the 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Thailand’s Labour Minister Treenuch Thienthong and Israel’s ambassador to Thailand Alona Fisher-Kamm laid wreaths during a repatriation ceremony of Sonthaya’s body at the airport on Thursday.
Source: CNA
