Hamas on Thursday released five Thai hostages, who were in custody since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The Thai workers released today are among 31 Thais taken by the militant group. Notably, 23 of them have already been released, while two are reported dead and the status of one remaining remains unclear. Thailand's Foreign Ministry said that 46 Thais have lost their lives during the conflict, which includes two who died in Hamas captivity. It is important to note that what so many Thais were doing in Israel.
What were Thai workers doing in Israel?
Israel traditionally relied on Palestinian workers. However, following the 1987-93 Palestinian revolt known as the first Intifada, it started bringing in migrant workers, most of whom came from Thailand. As Thais remain the largest group of foreign agricultural labourers in Israel today, they earn considerably more than they can at home.
There is also a bilateral agreement between Thailand and Israel, which seeks to ease the way for workers in the agriculture sector. Moreover, Israel has also come under criticism for the conditions under which the Thai farm labourers work.
In a 2015 report, Human Rights Watch said they often were housed in makeshift and inadequate accommodations and “were paid salaries significantly below the legal minimum wage, forced to work long hours above the legal maximum, subjected to unsafe working conditions, and denied their right to change employers."
Prior to the October 7 attack on Israel, there were around 30,000 Thai workers, primarily working on farms. After the attack, some 7,000 returned home, primarily on government evacuation flights, but higher wages have continued to attract new arrivals.
Israel announces incentives for workers
As the agriculture sector in Israel faces a shortage of labourers, Israel's Agriculture Ministry announced incentives to try and attract foreign workers back to evacuated areas.
Among other things, it offered to extend work visas and to pay bonuses of about $500 a month. Thailand's Labor Ministry granted 3,966 Thai workers permission to work in Israel in 2024, keeping Israel in the top four destinations for Thais working abroad last year.
Thai migrant workers generally come from poorer regions of the country, especially the northeast, and even before the bonuses, the jobs in Israel paid many times what they could make at home.
(With inputs from AP)
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