The five Thai hostages, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, and Lamnao Surask, who were released on Thursday from 482 days in captivity in Gaza, reunited with some of their family members on Tuesday.

Israel arranged to fly the relatives from Thailand to Israel and they reunited with their loved ones at Shamir Medical Center (formerly Assaf Harofeh) in Be’er Yaakov. The visit was coordinated with the Thai embassy in Israel.

The relatives will accompany the released hostages back to Thailand when their medical condition allows it, likely in about a week.

Last week, Kan News spoke with Dr. Osnat Levtzion-Korach, the director of Shamir Medical Center, where the hostages were hospitalized following their release.

“When they returned, due to the time difference, one refused to call his mother so he wouldn’t wake her up,” she said. “We tried to tell him that maybe it would be worthwhile to call anyway. But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to wake her up.”

According to Dr. Korach, the Foreign Ministry provided the Thai hostages with phones, which they use constantly to speak with their relatives back home. “They are always on the phone, calling, and they really feel very good,” she said.

However, before some of their relatives arrived on Tuesday, the medical team faced a unique challenge: “Unlike other hospitals that primarily took in Israeli hostages, we don’t have supportive families nearby for the hostages,” she said. “Therefore, we serve as their family. Beyond the medical aspect and the mental and emotional care, we try to be their home and family.”

Dr. Korach said that the concern for the hostages is shared by all the staff at the hospital, not just the medical team treating them. Upon their arrival at the hospital, they were received with a particularly moving gesture: “The hospital staff came out to them with flags of Thailand and Israel and it was so emotional,” she said. 

Additionally, their pre-October 7 employers in Israel have been visiting them regularly and providing emotional support.

“That’s also very, very moving,” Dr. Korach said. “The [released hostages] were really happy to see them. Their employers come to visit although they’re sometimes forced to wait a long time before they’re allowed in. It’s heartwarming.”

Interior Minister Moshe Arbel announced in a meeting on Sunday with Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa that he had decided to grant permanent residency in Israel to the five released hostages.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)