Reuters spoke with released hostage Anucha Angkaew, one of the Thai farm workers who was abducted by Hamas terrorists to Gaza and was returned to Israel on November 25th.

On the morning of October 7th, Anucha and five fellow Thais were sheltering from the rocket when they were suddenly accosted by Hamas terrorists.

They shouted “Thailand, Thailand!” But the terrorists didn’t care and proceeded to murder two of them. They then forced the remaining four Thais on a truck for the ride into Gaza.

“I thought I would die,” Anucha said from his home in Thailand where he returned after 50 days in captivity.

Anucha said that when he reached Gaza, the terrorists handed them over to a small group of men who took them to an abandoned house and tied their hands behind their backs. Soon, they were joined by a terrified 18-year-old Israeli, whom Anuch said he knew from Kibbutz Re’im. Their captors then began beating them, punching and kicking them. “We shouted ‘Thailand, Thailand’,” he said, and the captors let up a little but continued to brutally beat the young Israeli.

An hour later, the five of them were put on another truck that drove for about half an hour to a building that led into a tunnel. They were beaten again near the opening of the tunnel and photographed. They then walked through the tunnel to a small windowless room.

There, the four Thais and one Israeli were joined by another Israeli man. The captors continued kicking and punching the captives for two days. Afterward, they continued beating only the Israelis, whipping them with electrical wires for another two days.

They slept on the bare floor and were brought flat bread twice a day and shared two bottles of water between them daily.

Their “bathroom” was a hole in the ground near the room, where they were accompanied by one of eight guards armed with assault weapons.

“I felt hopeless,” Anucha said.

After four days, the six of them were taken to another more spacious room. There, they slept on plastic sheets and had an alcove as a “bathroom.” The beatings stopped and they received more food such as nuts butter, and later rice.

At one point, one of the guards brought them papers to sign and left behind a pen. The captives used the pen to mark time, draw tattoos, and draw a chessboard on a plastic sheet. They formed chess pieces out of a toothpaste box.

Anucha said that weeks passed. He had no idea that Israel had launched a war and buildings were being bombed above his head above ground.

One day, the guard bringing their first meal announced: “Thailand, go home.”

The four Thais were led on a walk through tunnels for around two hours and arrived at a Hamas base above ground, where several female Israeli hostages were waiting. Eleven hours later, they were transferred to the Red Cross, which brought them to Israel.

“I didn’t think I would get released,” he said, “It was like I was reborn.”

But the hardest part was still what he saw on Oct. 7, Anucha said. “I lost my friend in front of my eyes.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)