Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he will ask Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince during a meeting between leaders of Asean and the Gulf Cooperation Council this week to help facilitate the return of Thai workers stranded in Israel by allowing Royal Thai Air Force aircraft to fly across Saudi airspace.
He was speaking at Suvarnabhumi airport prior to his departure for China to attend the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, which started on Monday and lasts until Thursday.
After the trip to China, Mr Srettha is expected to attend the 1st Asean-GCC Summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Friday.
Mr Srettha admitted there had been no positive signs regarding Thai hostages held in Gaza being released by Palestinian Hamas militants despite reports of progress in talks. However, all possible channels are being explored to help those abducted, he added.
He said that during the summit, he will meet several foreign leaders and make the most of his personal ties as well as diplomatic channels to help the workers.
The Royal Thai Air Force cannot fly through Saudi airspace, so it has to detour around the country to get to Israel, Mr Srettha said, noting he will take advantage of the visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss the matter.
"I will have an audience with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, and we are expected to discuss a wide range of subjects," Mr Srettha said.
He also said another Thai worker had been killed in Israel, and one more added to the hostage count, raising the Thai death toll to 29 and the number of those taken hostage to 18.
The prime minister said he had also been told that six Thai workers who were supposed to return to Thailand on the latest flight did not show up for the trip. Thai authorities tried to contact them but to no avail. It was believed they were in conflict areas and unable to travel.
The latest flight was a Royal Thai Air Force A340-500 aircraft, which brought home 130 Thais on Monday.
Mr Srettha said the continued fighting and the rising death toll of Thai workers was worrying.
He had instructed officials to do everything they could to get the hostages in Gaza released and bring them home as soon as possible.
Asked about reports some Thai workers were being forced by their Israeli employers to continue working, even though the country was now at war, Mr Srettha said he had already told the Israeli ambassador to Thailand, Orna Sagiv, this was unacceptable. She had agreed to look into the matter.
The 130 Thais who arrived home from Israel on a Royal Thai Air Force plane on Monday were the fourth group to have returned since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct 7.
The air force's A340-500 took off from Ben Gurion airport in Israel on Sunday at 7.27pm (Thailand time) and landed at Don Mueang airport on Monday at 6.50am.
The 127 men, two women, and a five-year-old girl were received on arrival at the Wing 6 terminal by Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang and air force chief-of-staff ACM Seksan Kantha.
Before boarding the aircraft, all were examined by an air force medical team and went through security checks.
Of the workers, one had been injured in a fall before the war, one had broken his arm and had undergone surgery, and five had flu symptoms, but all of them tested negative for the coronavirus with ATKs.
After going through the immigration process, they were taken from Don Mueang airport to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, where they were met by waiting relatives.
Mr Sutin said the aircraft would return to Israel and bring home another group of Thais on Wednesday, taking the same route.
Workers who returned on Monday would initially be paid 15,000 baht in compensation each by the Ministry of Labour.
They voiced happiness at being safely home and thanked the Thai embassy staff for taking care of them.
