Five Thai nationals have been freed by Hamas, having been abducted in the assault of October 7, 2023. They returned to Thailand on Sunday and are a welcome relief for their families and the nation at large. Among the 31 Thai nationals being held by Hamas, 23 have been freed, two died, and one remains missing. This brings the total number of deaths to 46 Thai nationals, with those who died in captivity included, according to the ministry.
Why So Many Thai Nationals in Israel?
This has been a history quite long for the state of Israel, especially after the Palestinian revolt in 1987-93, termed the First ‘Intifada’. The initial tendency was to rely wholly on Palestinian workers until Israel’s relations with the Palestinians became worse, prompting it to desperately recruit many migrant workers. Among these workers, the majority happened to come from Thailand, making Thai nationals one of the largest groups of foreign agricultural laborers in the country today.
Israel and Thailand have, ten years ago, agreed bilaterally on the issue of migration by the Thai workforce. The bulk of these are for agriculture workers, but many criticize the conditions they live in as well as how they work. A report published by Human Rights Watch last 2015 points out that a lot of these workers have inadequate, even makeshift accommodations. Meanwhile, many received wages lower than the legal minimum wage. In addition, their working hours lasted long, involved hazardous working environment, and frequently denied them rights to change jobs.
Prior to the Hamas attack, Israel had about 30,000 Thai workers, mainly working on agricultural farms. After the attack, the government evacuated more than 7,000 workers back to Thailand through evacuation flights. Still, more workers flocked in, and the Thai Ambassador to Israel, Pannabha Chandraramya, insists that the number of Thai workers in Israel has actually surpassed 38,000.
How Israel Attracted Workers After the Hamas Attack?
The shock and distress caused by the Hamas attack prompted a large number of foreign workers to leave Israel, resulting in a labor shortage, particularly in the agricultural sector. In response, Israel’s government announced a series of incentives to attract foreign laborers back. These included extending work visas and offering bonuses of about $500 a month.
Thailand’s labor ministry also approved the dispatch of nearly 4,000 workers to Israel in 2024. Thus, Israel is one of the first destinations among many Thai workers in search of higher wages and alternatives abroad, particularly from poorer regions of northeastern Thailand. Before the incentives were introduced, workers in Israel earned much more than they could at home, making it a very attractive destination for migrant labor.
