Israel-Gaza war: Muslim group takes credit for Thai hostages’ release after Hamas talks
- The Thai-Iran Alumni Association’s president said it was mission ‘accomplished’, countering reports that credited the foreign ministry and negotiators
- He said the group had conveyed to Hamas during a three-hour meeting in October that Thais were not party to the conflict and should be freed
A Thai Muslim group that spoke directly with Hamas said its efforts were key to ensuring that Thai hostages were among the first to be released in Gaza during a temporary truce with Israeli forces.
“We were the sole party that spoke to Hamas since the beginning of the war to ask for the release of Thais,” Thai-Iran Alumni Association President, Lerpong Syed told Reuters on Monday.
Three more Thais held by Hamas militants were released from Gaza on Sunday, taking to 17 the number of Thai nationals freed since the four-day truce began on Friday.
Lerpong is part of a group of Thai Muslims convened by the country’s parliamentary speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha, which travelled to Tehran in October and directly spoke with a Hamas representative. While not official negotiations, the parallel talks were not condemned by Thailand’s government.
“If Thailand only relied on the foreign ministry or asked other countries for help – the chances of getting released with the first group would be very low,” Lerpong said, adding that other countries with hostages such as the United States, Germany and France have more influence.
Thailand’s foreign ministry could not immediately be reached for comment on Lerpong’s claim of credit, but Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara separately thanked all involved for the releases so far in a post on social media platform X.
“Congratulations to all and our deep gratitude for all the efforts in securing their release. We continue to call for the release of the remaining Thais still held hostage,” the foreign minister’s post said.