When Thai farm laborer Anucha Angkaew scrambled out of the bunker where he had been sheltering from rockets on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip around 7.30 am on Oct. 7, he expected to see Israeli soldiers.
Anucha Angkaew, a Thai farm worker who was abducted by Hamas while working in Israel in October and spent 50 days in captivity in Gaza, speaks on the phone at his family home in Don Pila village in Udon Thani province, Thailand December 6, 2023. Reuters/Devjyot Ghoshal
When Thai farm laborer Anucha Angkaew scrambled out of the bunker where he had been sheltering from rockets on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip around 7.30 am on Oct. 7, he expected to see Israeli soldiers.
Instead, Anucha and his five Thai colleagues were accosted by 10 armed militants, whom he identified as Hamas by the Palestine flags on their sleeves.
"We shouted 'Thailand, Thailand'," said Anucha, a soft-spoken 28-year-old with a wispy goatee. "But they didn't care."
Two of the six Thais were killed soon after, including a friend who Anucha said was shot dead in front of him in a random act of violence. The rest were forced on to a truck for a roughly 30 minute ride into Gaza.
Few of the freed hostages have spoken at length about their ordeal, though others who have since been released also described beatings and death threats.
Hamas officials did not immediately respond to a written request for comment on Anucha's account.
Reuters
Hamas wants a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza and swap all Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel, a senior official from the Palestinian militant group said, rejecting Israel's offer of an interim truce.
Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sa’oud bin Abd Al-Rahman Al Thani posted and hastily deleted an X message this week endorsing Hamas, proclaiming, “We are all Hamas… Oh Al-Quds, revolt and commemorate Al-Qassam!”
In a meeting held Thursday in Moscow, Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, blamed Israel for failing to uphold a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, originally brokered in January by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.
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