Thailand and Israel have expressed interest in negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) to enhance trade and investment between the two nations.Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the countries share a mutual interest in establishing an FTA,

The father of a Thai farmhand who was held hostage in Gaza for 15 months could barely get the words out at hearing the news of his son’s release.

Five Thai nationals held hostage by Hamas since its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel were released on Thursday, while one remaining Thai citizen remains in captivity.

Steve Witkoff, the U.S.’s new Middle East envoy, has joined Israelis in Tel Aviv who have gathered to watch the hostage releases in what has become known as “Hostage Square,” according to images broadcast on Israeli television.

Three Israeli hostages and five Thai nationals held by Hamas in Gaza since the 7 October 2023 have been released. Agam Berger, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier, was reunited with her family at a military base in southern Israel after being handed over by armed Palestinian fighters to the Red Cross in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Thursday.

Kumphawapi, THAILAND: The families of Thai farm workers held for over a year in Gaza cheered and wept with relief Thursday (Jan 30) as they were freed in a hostage-prisoner excha

The family of a Thai farm worker held for over a year in Gaza wept with relief as he was freed in a hostage-prisoner exchange between Israel

Five Thai farm workers who were abducted during the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israel have been released after being held for almost 500 days in Gaza. They were handed over to the Red Cross during chaotic scenes along with two Israelis, shortly after a first Israeli hostage was freed.

At least 39 Thai agricultural workers were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, and at least 31 were taken hostage, according to the Thai foreign ministry. Of the 31 hostages, at least two died in captivity, Thai officials said. During a cease-fire in November 2023, 23 Thai hostages were released.

Thailand suffered the highest toll of any country not directly involved in the war, with its citizens working perilously close to dangerous boundary areas in Israel

Buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners left an Israeli prison on Thursday, after chaos during the release by Gaza militants of three Israeli hostages and five Thais led to a brief delay in the process.