A member of the cabinet is preparing to leave for the Middle East soon on a mission to seek the release of the Thai workers taken hostage by Hamas militants, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said.
Speaking at the Wing 23 air terminal of Udon Thani airport on Sunday, Mr Srettha said he could hardly sleep for concern over the fate of Thai workers in Israel where the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is poised for a ground offensive in Gaza.
Mr Srettha said the war zone has begun to expand, adding he did not want to see this happen as there are still many Thai workers stranded in Israel.
He said since many of the workers in Israel are from Udon Thani, provincial authorities as well as MPs representing the province should tell their families to urge their children to return home as quickly as possible before the ground offensive begins and communication routes are blocked.
"A cabinet minister is now preparing to leave for the Middle East soon on a mission to seek the release of the Thai hostages," he said, but did not elaborate or name the minister.
Mr Srettha said he was very unhappy to learn that many of the Thais still in Israel wanted to continue working there, but still hoped they would change their minds.
The government is ready to arrange more flights for them, he said.
The prime minister said the government would on Tuesday announce additional measures to help the workers when they return. They include low-interest loans with a long-term repayment period for them to pay off their debts, he added.
Mr Srettha said he was checking a report that a video clip of Thai workers being hurt was shown to a United Nations forum by the Israeli ambassador. He said such a disclosure should not have been made.
"This is not good. The war is cruel enough. Doing that was like pouring fuel onto the fire. Thailand is a neutral country and not part of the conflict. We only want our people to be safe and the hostages released as soon as possible," he added.
In a related development, a Royal Thai Air Force's A340-500 departed on Sunday at 11am from Don Mueang airport to Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates. From there, the aircraft would take on board a group of waiting Thai workers already transported from Israel. The plane is expected to return to Don Mueng airport's Wing 6 terminal on Monday at 2.20am.
