Israel-Hamas deal raises hopes in Thailand that its hostages will be freed

DONPILA, Thailand — All eyes will be on Israel and Gaza on Friday, but when the Hamas militant group releases the first of 50 hostages in a cease-fire deal , there will also be renewed hope in this rural village in northeastern Thailand .

Anucha Angkaew’s family hopes it means he will soon be released as well, some seven weeks after he is believed to have been abducted from the kibbutz where he was working in southern Israel.

About two dozen of the estimated 240 hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are from Thailand, one of Israel’s biggest sources of migrant labor . Thailand also has among the highest death tolls in the conflict of any foreign country, with 39 of its citizens killed.

“I hope this is real news and Art is coming back to our family soon,” Anucha’s mother, Watsana Yojampa, said Wednesday after hearing about the Israel-Hamas agreement, referring to him by his nickname.

Anucha, 28, is believed to have been abducted on Oct. 7 when the avocado farm where he worked was stormed by terrorists from Hamas, part of a coordinated attack that Israel says killed 1,200 people. His family says he has been missing ever since.

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday that it welcomed the release of hostages as well as the four-day truce that Israel agreed to in exchange. It said Thailand “fervently hopes that this momentum can be maintained” so that the remaining hostages are released as soon as possible.

Hopes were raised by a report Thursday on the pan-Arab website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, citing an unnamed Egyptian source, that the Thai hostages could be released in a deal brokered by Iran that is unrelated to the Israel-Hamas agreement.

Thai-Muslim politicians who have been in contact with Hamas since October said last week they had been assured that all Thai hostages would be released during any cease-fire.