Israel says 54 Thai nationals being held hostage by Hamas

Fifty-four Thai nationals are among the 220 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, according to new figures released by the Israeli government. Almost all are believed to have been farm workers employed on the agricultural communities that bore the brunt of the terrorist attacks launched on southern Israel by the extremist organisation on 7 October. Thais also made up the largest single group of foreign dead and missing, with 24 confirmed killed and 21 unaccounted for, the updated statistics revealed. In all, 1,400 people were killed in the attacks, mostly civilians. Authorities in Bangkok have said that at least 33…