National —
The Thai foreign ministry reported on Monday, October 9th, that at least 12 Thai people working in Israel have been killed during Hamas’s military attack, while eight have been injured (two critically), and 11 have been taken hostage.
The numbers, however, are still fluctuating as Thai officials are facing difficulty in obtaining information from the Israeli government at this time, the ministry reported.
According to a report from the labor ministry, only one Thai person was killed, nine injured, and 11 taken hostage.
There are as many as 30,000 Thai people working in Israel, and 1,099 of them have already registered with the Thai labor ministry to be flown back home, labor minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn revealed on Monday.
The Thai Air Force is coordinating with the Israeli government to start airlifting Thai people back to Thailand amid the current Israeli airspace lockdown.
Of the 30,000 Thai people, around 5,000 are working near the Gaza Strip, where the battle is currently ongoing.
Minister Phiphat said he was notified by the Israeli government that two of the casualties which were initially reported to be Thai people were in fact Chinese nationals, but this still awaits a confirmation.
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.
