Five more Thais working in Israel have been confirmed dead, raising the total number of fatalities to 39, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Citing the Thai embassy in Tel Aviv, the ministry said on Saturday that Israeli authorities had completed the identification of the victims and verified that five of them are Thai nationals.
As of Nov 10, the number of Thai workers killed stood at 39 with 19 others injured and 25 taken hostage. Of the injured, four are still in hospital.
Pannabha Chandraramya, the ambassador to Israel, and Sakdinart Sonthisakdiyothin, an inspector with the Social Security Office, visited three of the injured on Friday.
The workers, who are at Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Center and Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh), are making a good recovery, the foreign ministry said, adding that officials are making plans to visit the other injured person.
In a related development, more than 6,000 Thai workers have submitted requests for compensation from the the fund for overseas workers, said Pairote Chotikasathien, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour.
About 3,000 of the applicants have been paid and the rest are expected to receive the compensation, at 15,000 baht each, within one week, he said, adding that some workers faced payment delays due to paperwork problems.
He said the returnees would also receive additional compensation of 50,000 baht each, as proposed by the prime minister. Families of those who were killed and workers who returned with re-entry before the violence broke out will also be paid.
The financial relief is expected to be tabled for cabinet approval on Monday, he said.
Provincial labour offices are also gathering documents from workers who paid their own way back to Thailand. About 2,400 requests have been submitted, with 1,100 seeking refunds for air tickets and the rest for airport transfers in Israel, he said.
According to Thai officials, there were about 30,000 Thai workers in Israel before the Oct 7 raids by Hamas. Some 8,000 have since been repatriated and over 20,000 Thai workers have chosen to stay despite the worsening conflict.
Efforts to secure the release of those held captive are still ongoing. Foreign Affairs Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said last week that the Thais held hostage are expected to be among the first of some 250 hostages to be freed as they were being held in relatively safe areas.