Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has received a report that another Thai national was killed in the Israel-Hamas war, bringing the total fatalities to 21 as evacuation has been prepared for several thousands of Thai workers.
The Prime Minister, who is visiting Malaysia has provided an update on the situation of helping Thai people in Israel, saying the government coordinated with private airlines to add another four planes due to the increasing number of Thais wanting to return to Thailand, which has now exceeded 5,000 people.
The situation has deteriorated with continuous rocket attacks. Due to several road closures in Israel, military vehicles are the only means of transportation. Gen. Songwit Noonpakdi, defence forces commander coordinated with the Israeli military to use their vehicles to transport Thai people to the embassy.
“We are trying to bring in aircraft as soon as possible to fly into Israel, evacuate people to neighboring countries, and then return for another round to get Thai citizens out of Israel as quickly as possible. We can already fly out today, but we must ensure that when we arrive, Thai people are ready to leave because transportation in Israel is only available via military vehicles,” he said.
However, the problem that follows is uncertainty about how long the skies will remain open and how many people can be transported to the airport.
“If we are not prepared and do not have the planes ready, we will miss the opportunity, as there is a chance that the skies will close very soon. Therefore, our operations must take into account several factors, with the risk of having to be prepared and possibly flying in first and taking a chance on whether we can bring Thai people out or not,” he added. (TNA)
