Photo: Collected
Thailand has canceled a ban on sending Thai labor to Israel under their cooperation agreement, which was imposed after the October 7 Hamas' attack on Israel over safety concerns, according to the country's employment department.
The Thai authorities made this decision after they were assured by the Israeli authorities that the workers would be deployed only in safe zones, the department's director general, Somchai Morakotsriwan, said on Thursday (13 June).
The Israeli government green-lighted a quota for Thailand to send 5,000 people to work in the country between June and December 2024 under the Thailand-Israel Cooperation agreement on the placement of workers, the official added. The first group of Thai workers to depart for Israel will include 1,200 workers who were due to go to the Jewish state last year under this program.
Over 30,000 Thai citizens worked in Israel as foreign employees before the ongoing escalation of conflict in the Gaza Strip, which started with the attack by Palestinian movement Hamas on Israel on October 7. In the first days of the hostilities, 39 Thai nationals died and 54 were taken hostage by Palestinian movement Hamas, with 46 of them being subsequently released. Eight Thais are still being held in the Gaza Strip as hostages. Over 9,000 Thai nationals wishing to be evacuated from Israel were transported to their home country by the Thai air force. Many Israeli employers raised the pay of their Thai employees after the escalation, prompting them to stay and work in the country.
Messenger/Mumu
