Israel-Gaza war: Thai hostage’s mother danced with joy after daughter released by Hamas

Natthawaree Mulkan, the only Thai woman abducted during the Hamas attack on Israel, was one of the 10 Thai captives freed as part of a truce deal

Her mother lost touch with her after the attack and then stopped following reports, dreading bad news: ‘I was afraid of seeing my daughter lying dead’

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Natthawaree Mulkan, one of the Thai workers taken hostage by Hamas and later released, is seen after a medical checkup in Tel Aviv, Israel, in an image released on Saturday. Photo: Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs via Reuters

Published: 3:25am, 26 Nov 2023Updated: 10:19am, 26 Nov 2023

When Natthawaree Mulkan’s mother saw that her daughter was among the Thai hostages released by Hamas, she was so happy she danced with her eight-year-old granddaughter outside their home in northeastern Thailand.

“I was elated … I came out and danced,” Bunyarin Srijan, 56, said pointing to her patio.

Natthawaree, a mother of two, was one of 10 Thai hostages freed by Hamas during the first truce of a seven-week-old war that started with the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 assault on southern Israel.

She was the only Thai woman abducted.

Bunyarin Srijan, the mother of a Thai hostage released on Friday, shows an image of her daughter, Natthawaree Mulkan, on her phone at her home in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Photo: Reuters

Her mother lost touch with her after the attack and then stopped following reports, dreading bad news.

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