5 Thai people injured in missile attacks on Israel-Lebanon border

Five Thai people suffered injuries after missile attacks at an agricultural community called Margaliot on the Israel-Lebanon border on March 4. Authorities advised Thai nationals in the area to evacuate.

The conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah group has raged over the past four months at the Israel-Lebanon border in parallel to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a report from the Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv, stating that Thai workers in the region were affected by the ongoing clash. According to the local media, the anti-tank missiles were fired from the Lebanese side into the northern part of Israel on March 4. Local media reported that the attack caused one death and seven injuries.

The nationality of the deceased was not disclosed while the seven injured were reported to be Thai nationals. Among the seven, two suffered severe injuries. Israeli officials promptly responded, transporting each victim to the hospital via helicopters.

The Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv later confirmed that five Thais were injured in the attack, and the deceased was not Thai. Two of the Thai victims received treatment at Ziv Medical Centre in Safed City, three were at Rambam Medical Centre, and one was already discharged.

Thai authorities are scheduled to visit each victim at the medical centres and will contact their families in Thailand to provide information about the incident. The embassy stated on its Facebook page urging Thai workers on the Israel-Lebanon border to evacuate the area.

The embassy urged any Thai citizens who were affected by the attack to contact the embassy via +972 546368150 or +972 503673195.

Thai hostages

In a report released by the Thai news agency Thansettakij yesterday, March 4, it was revealed that eight Thai nationals have been held in detention by the Hamas group since October of last year. Despite the passage of time, there has been no progress reported regarding plans for their rescue.

Egypt came forward as an intermediary in the Gaza ceasefire agreement. The intention was to prompt Israel to cease its attacks in the area for six weeks. The meeting to discuss the agreement took place in Cairo on March 3. Representatives from the Hamas group presented at the meeting but no Israeli representatives participated.

Thansettakij reported that Israel decided to cancel the scheduled meeting. Israel claimed that the Hamas group refused to disclose the identities of all living hostages to Israel. Consequently, the fate of the eight Thai nationals and other hostages remains uncertain.