Account of Released Thai Hostage: Hamas Forces Killed My Friend Before My Eyes

When Anucha Ankhaw, a 28-year-old Thai agricultural worker, emerged from a warehouse where he had taken shelter at the Israel-Gaza border at 7:30 AM on October 15, he was detained along with five other Thai colleagues by 10 Hamas militants. There, he witnessed the killing of two of his colleagues by Hamas forces. Anucha says, "We shouted Thailand! Thailand! But they didn’t care." According to Reuters, two of the six Thai workers, including one of Anucha's friends, were killed in the sudden violence. The others were violently directed into a truck for a 30-minute journey to Gaza. Anucha's personal account provides a glimpse into what has happened to most hostages or what is currently happening: sleeping on sandy ground and being beaten by Hamas captors (especially if they were Israeli). The four Thai men kept their hope alive by playing chess on a makeshift board, sharing memories of their families, and longing for Thai food. After 50 days of captivity at the hands of Hamas in Gaza, most of which was spent in two small rooms in a basement with armed guards, Anucha returned to his father's home in a northeastern Thai village, stating, "I thought I was going to die." He is one of the few hostages who has spoken in detail about his captivity. At least 240 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken hostage by Hamas militants following the October 15 attack on Israel, with over 100 of them, including women, children, and non-Israelis, having been released, but about 130 others, including eight Thai nationals, remain Hamas hostages. Before the Hamas attack, around 30,000 Thai workers were employed in Israeli farms, which pay high wages to farmers. Thailand has friendly relations with Israel but recognized the Palestinian Authority in 2012. Israel has referred to the slain Thai hostages as "heroes" and stated that released Thai hostages will receive similar benefits to Israeli hostages. Anucha recounts that one day in Gaza, the group of Thais and an Israeli agricultural worker who had joined them were taken to an abandoned house. The militants tied their hands behind their backs and beat them, but when they heard the shout "Thai! Thai!", they reduced the intensity of the blows. Afterward, the five were loaded onto a truck and taken to a small building that led to a tunnel. The militants beat them again near the tunnel entrance, took photos of them, and then brought them to a room measuring one and a half meters by one and a half meters. According to Anucha, the beatings lasted for two days, and for another two days, two Israeli hostages were whipped with an electric cable. Daily, these six men were given pita bread twice and two bottles of water, and the toilet was a hole in the ground near the room, with an armed guard taking them to the restroom each time. Additionally, they were not allowed to speak to each other. Anucha says, "I was hopeless." He kept track of the days of his captivity by the number of meals, stating that after four days, they were moved from a tunnel covered with metal doors to a larger room that had plastic sheets, three electric lamps, and a shelf serving as a toilet. There, the beatings stopped, and the guards added nuts, butter, and rice to their meals. Then one day, a guard brought several papers for them to sign. The guard spoke only Arabic, and the Israeli hostages translated for him, as he only knew a little Hebrew. The guard had left his pen behind, and they used it to mark the time, tattoo, and design a chessboard on plastic. They made the pieces from a green and pink toothpaste box. Another point of hope for them was talking about the foods they craved. Weeks passed, and Anucha often thought of home, his father, his seven-year-old daughter, and his wife of 14 years. Finally, on the thirty-fifth day, a man in black clothing, whom Anucha believed to be a Hamas leader, came for a brief inspection of their cell. After a few more days, a guard told them, "Thai! Go home." The four Thais were guided for about two hours through tunnels until they reached a place where a few Israeli women were also waiting. About 11 hours later, they were handed over to the Red Cross, which took them out of Gaza on December 4. Anucha says, "I didn’t think I would be freed; it felt like I was born again." However, Anucha states that the hardest part of his captivity is still what he witnessed on October 15: "They killed my friend before my eyes."