The seven sets of remains are scheduled to arrive at 10.35am at Suvarnabhumi International Airport tomorrow (Thursday), following eight others which were returned last week.

The Thai government has put the number of Thais who died when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7at 30,  18 injured and 19 reportedly held captive. Today (Wednesday), 320 surviving Thais arrived from Israel on a Thai government-sponsored flight.

One of them, Weeraphan Jabsangchan, 32 of Phitsanuloke province, told reporters that he had worked on an agricultural plantation in Israel for more than eight years. His work site is close to the Israel-Lebanon border.

When the fighting broke out, he and two other Thais were forced to hide in the camp near an Israeli military checkpoint.

“When the fighting took place near my camp, I could not go out to work. Some days other Thais came to take shelter in my place. When the situation returned to normal, my employer asked me to work,” he said.

When he decided to return to Thailand, fearing of his safety, his employers refused to pay him two months of his salary.

Weeraphan said, in spite of that, he decided to come home and was advised by the Labour Ministry officials to file a complaint with Phitsanuloke labour officials, who will alert the Thai Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry will inform Israeli authorities about the issue.

As of today, 4,150 Thais have already returned from Israel. The Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv has reported that more than 8,400 Thais have registered to return.