Of the 98 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, 10 are foreign nationals abducted from their workplaces in southern Israel’s kibbutzim.
Eight are Thai citizens who came to Israel to support their families, while the others include one Nepali student and one Tanzanian student. These foreign hostages are not included in the first stage of the planned deal, which is set to begin next week and involves the release of 33 captives.
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Foreign national abducted on October 7, from top left: Pongsak Tanna, Sattin Suwankham, Watchara Sriaoun, Sontha Oakkharasri, Bipin Joshi, Surasak Lamnau, Joshua Loito Mollel, Sontha Oakkharasri, Pinta Natthaphong and Bhanawat Saitieo
So far, 23 Thai hostages have been freed, thanks to negotiations between Thailand and Arab and Muslim nations, including Hamas' main backer, Iran. These releases occurred outside of Israel’s hostage deal. However, 49 Thai nationals were killed during the October 7 attack, and nearly 30,000 Thais were working in Israeli agriculture before the war.
In Kibbutz Nir Oz alone, 11 Thai workers were murdered, five were abducted and two were freed in an earlier deal. After the massacre, Kibbutz Chair Osnat Perry sent a letter in Thai to the Thai people, their prime minister Srettha Thavisin and Thai Ambassador to Israel Pannabha Chandraramya, expressing deep regret over the harm to innocent Thai citizens. She emphasized efforts to secure the safe return of all hostages.
Among those abducted was Sattin Suwankham, 34, who was seriously wounded during his capture. Suwankham’s mother learned of his kidnapping from a video of the abduction uploaded to Facebook.
Nepalese student Bipin Joshi hiding with Nepalese peers in bomb shelter and later being abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7
The other Thai hostages are Surasak Lamnau, 30, Pongsak Tanna, 35, Bhanawat Saitieo, who was shot in the leg on October 7, Pinta Natthaphong, 35, and Watchara Sriaoun, 32.
Two other Thai workers—Sontha Oakkharasri, 32, and Rinthalak Sudthisak, 43—were murdered in the plantations of Kibbutz Be’eri on the day of the massacre and their bodies are held in the Gaza Strip.
According to the website Untold, Not Forgotten, Pongpak, originally from Buriram Province in Thailand, worked in Israel for just over six years to support his 15-year-old daughter.
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In addition to the Thai hostages, Nepali student Bipin Joshi, 23, and Tanzanian student Joshua Loitu Mollel, 22, are also held captive. Both came to Israel to study agriculture. Joshi and his Nepali peers arrived just three weeks before October 7 and were living in Kibbutz Alumim, where they were set to specialize in citrus farming. On the morning of the attack, they awoke to the sound of rockets.
According to The Wall Street Journal, after hearing the rockets and gunfire, Joshi realized the attack was different from the usual alarms he had experienced. As rockets fell, the Nepali and Thai residents scattered to various hiding places. One foreign worker near Joshi sought refuge above a refrigerator, writing to his wife, "I won’t be coming home." Others hid under wooden tables in a kitchen near crates of onions.
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Nepalese student Bipin Joshi hiding with Nepalese peers in bomb shelter before being abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7
In a bomb shelter where 17 Nepali workers huddled shoulder-to-shoulder, they took a selfie, with Joshi smiling in the foreground. As gunfire approached, panic ensued. When Hamas terrorists entered the shelter, they shot dead a student filming on his phone and another who shouted, "We are Nepali." Two grenades were thrown into the room; Joshi managed to grab one and throw it away but could not reach the second grenade, which exploded, leaving several injured and unconscious.
After the attackers moved on, Israeli police called for survivors to head to a nearby kitchen. While some Nepali and Thai workers fled to new hiding spots, Joshi helped gather the injured to assist them. He quickly messaged his cousin, writing in English: "If something happens to me, you’ll have to take care of the family. Stay strong and always look to the future."
A young terrorist armed with a rifle later burst into the area and forced Joshi and three Thai workers toward the door. Another terrorist recorded the abduction on his phone—the last footage of Joshi seen to date. His family and the Nepali government are tirelessly campaigning to raise awareness of his captivity and secure his release.
On October 7, 10 Nepali students were killed in the attacks. Prof. Chaim Shaked, president of Hemdat College of Education in Sdot Negev, where they studied, traveled to Nepal to visit the victims' families.
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Then-foreign minister Eli Cohen hosts father and uncle of Joshua Mollel at Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, December 2023
(Photo: Foreign Ministry)
Mollel, an agronomy student from Tanzania, was confirmed dead several weeks after the attack, with his body taken to Gaza. Since then, his father, Loitu, has led an international campaign to recover his remains, even traveling to Israel.
He met with then-foreign minister Eli Cohen, who presented the family with a certificate for 18 trees planted in Mollel's name in partnership with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael. Another Tanzanian, Mollel’s roommate Clemence Felix Mtenga, was also killed during the attacks.