BANGKOK -- Five Thai workers released after being held hostage for over a year in Gaza arrived in Bangkok on Sunday. Sarusak Rumnao, 32, Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Sathian Suwannakham, 35, Pongsak Thaenna, 36, and Bannawat Saethao, 27, were freed on Jan. 30 as part of an exchange arrangement.

Five Thai farmworkers released by Hamas in Gaza last month have arrived home in Bangkok, after spending nearly 500 days in captivity. Pongsak Thaenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Saethao and Surasak Lamnao had all been working in southern Israel when they were kidnapped during the attacks in October 2023.

Thais were, after Israelis, the nationality most affected by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, with nearly 40 farm workers killed and almost as many captured.

Five Thai nationals held hostage by Hamas since its attack on Israel have returned home after their release from captivity last month

Five Thai nationals held captive by Hamas for over a year returned to Thailand on Sunday, reuniting with their tearful families at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. The returnees, dressed in winter jackets, were met with emotional embraces from their families.