Emotional homecoming for five Thai nationals as they return after a year in Hamas captivity

The five returnees -- Sathien Suwannakham from Nong Bua Lam Phu, Pongsak Thaenna from Buri Ram, Watchara Sriaoun from Udon Thani, Surasak Rumnao from Udon Thani, and Bannawat Saethao from Nan -- were welcomed with tearful embraces, marking the end of their harrowing ordeal

Bangkok: Thailand witnessed an emotional homecoming as five nationals, held captive by Hamas for more than a year, finally reunited with their families at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sunday, local media reported.

The five returnees — Sathien Suwannakham from Nong Bua Lam Phu, Pongsak Thaenna from Buri Ram, Watchara Sriaoun from Udon Thani, Surasak Rumnao from Udon Thani, and Bannawat Saethao from Nan — were welcomed with tearful embraces, marking the end of their harrowing ordeal, The Bangkok Post reported.

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Dressed in winter jackets, the men were visibly moved as they embraced their families. Pongsak Thaenna, 35, broke down in tears as he hugged his 65-year-old father, Wilas. “I am indescribably happy to come back home again,” he said, expressing gratitude to the Thai government for facilitating his return. “We are all deeply touched to be back in our birthplace. I don’t know what else to say, we are truly thankful.”

Among those waiting anxiously was Bannawat’s wife, Wichayada Sae-yang, 22, who had spent months praying for her husband’s safe return. The couple has three children — aged one, four, and six — who had been asking why their father had not been in touch. “Every day, they asked when he would come home,” she said.

For Sathien Suwannakham’s mother, 60-year-old Nukan, the return of her son was a moment she had feared would never come. “I visited as many shrines as possible, praying for his safety. I even consulted fortune tellers, just to know if he was still alive,” she revealed. “Every time I thought of him, I cried. I feared my son might have already been killed and buried.”

The release of the Thai hostages comes amid ongoing negotiations following Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israeli border communities. According to Israeli authorities, at least 240 people — including both Israelis and foreign nationals — were abducted.