Exclusive: 50 days in Hamas captivity – Thai man recalls beatings and grief

DON PILA, Thailand, Dec 7 (Reuters) – When Thai farm worker Anucha Angkaew jumped out of the shelter where he was sheltering from rockets on Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip around at 7.30 in the morning of October 7, he expected to see Israeli soldiers. .

Instead, Anucha and his five Thai friends were attacked by 10 armed militants, who he identified as Hamas with a Palestinian flag in their hands.

“We shouted ‘Thailand, Thailand’,” said Anucha, a 28-year-old man with his goat. “But they didn’t care.”

Six Thais died later, including a friend who Anucha said was shot in front of him in a random act of violence. Others were forced onto a truck for the 30-minute drive to Gaza.

Anucha’s first-hand account offers a glimpse into what many detainees endured – and some still endure. He described sleeping on a sandy floor and being beaten by Hamas thugs, who he said singled out Israel for violence in particular.

To keep their hope alive, the four Thais rely on random board games, family memories and a desire for Thai food.

Few of those who were freed spoke at length about their ordeal, although others who were freed also described beatings and death threats. .

Hamas officials did not immediately respond to a written request for comment on Anucha’s story.

“I thought I was going to die,” he said Wednesday, at his family’s home in northeastern Thailand, where he returned this month after 50 days in exile.

Almost the entire time was spent in two small underground rooms, guarded by armed guards and passing through dark tunnels.

At least 240 people – Israelis and foreigners – were abducted in Gaza on October 7. Hamas soldiers attacked the border and killed 1,200 people.

More than 100 detainees – mostly women, children and non-Israelis – have been released.

In retaliation for the attack on October 7, Israel carried out a series of deadly bombings and attacks on the ground that killed more than 15,000 people, according to figures from the officials of the Palestinian health was determined by the United Nations.

About 130 people, including eight Thais, are still being held.

Before the war, about 30,000 Thai workers worked in the agricultural sector, making them one of the largest groups of workers from Israel. Israel offers farmers high wages.

Thailand, which has friendly relations with Israel, recognized Palestine as a country in 2012.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has compared the dead Thais to “heroes” and said the freed prisoners will receive the same benefits as their Israeli counterparts.

TWO CITIES, TWO CUPS

Once in Gaza, uniformed soldiers handed the Thais over to a small group of men who took them to an abandoned house and tied their hands behind their backs.

The Thais were accompanied by a dangerous 18-year-old Israeli, a man Anucha said he knew from Kibbutz Re’im, where he worked on an avocado farm.

Soon the beatings began, while those who arrested them punched and kicked them. “We shouted ‘Thailand, Thailand’,” he said, which lessened the intensity of the blows. The young Israel was not spared.

An hour later, all five were put in another truck about 30 minutes to a small house that leads into a canal.

Near the mouth of the canal, they were beaten again and photographed, said Anucha, before walking down a dark passage, about a meter wide, to a small room.

In this windowless space, which was about 1.5 meters by 1.5 meters and was lit by a light bulb, the five were joined by another Israeli.

The soldiers continued to kick and punch the prisoners for two days, Anucha said. After that, they continued for the next two days of beating the Israelis, who were beaten with electric cables.

Anucha’s injuries were not serious but weeks after his release from captivity, his wrist still bears marks from the arrest.

The prisoners slept on the sand floor. The six men were given flat bread twice a day and shared two bottles of water between them which were refilled each day.

Their toilet was a hole in the ground near the room, where they were taken by one of eight policemen armed with weapons such as AK-47. The police told them not to talk to themselves.

“I felt hopeless,” Anucha said.

Anucha first counted the days by the number of meals. After four days, the six walked into another room.

During the walk, Anucha said that the tunnel, which was illuminated by flashlights carried by those arrested, was equipped with metal doors.

‘THAILAND, GO HOME’

Their new room was more spacious. They had plastic sheets to sleep on. Three light bulbs lit the space. An alcove served as their toilet.

The beating stopped. Foods improved including nuts, butter and, later, rice.

Still using food to measure time, Anucha left scratches on the floor to mark the number of days of captivity.

That changed when a police officer brought them papers to sign. He, like other guards, only speaks Arabic. Israel interpreted Anucha, who said he spoke Hebrew.

But the guard left a white ballpoint pen. They used it to mark time, draw tattoos and draw a circuit board on the plastic sheet. The fissures were made from a pink-and-green toothpaste box.

Another distraction is talking about food. Anucha wanted soi ju, a Thai dish of raw beef dipped in a spicy sauce, which she dreamed and talked about.

“Food is a source of hope,” he said with a smile.

Weeks passed. Anucha had no idea about the Israeli attacks and bombings on the ground. He often thinks about home, his father, his seven-year-old daughter and his 14-year-old partner.

On Day 35, a man in black arrived for a short visit. From his attitude and polite behavior of the police, the prisoners thought he was a senior leader of Hamas.

They continued their routine, until one day, a policeman arrived after their first meal and announced: “Thailand, go home.”

The four Thais were led through the tunnels for about two hours and arrived on the ground at a Hamas compound, where a small group of Israeli women who were detained were also waiting.

About 11 hours later, they were handed over to the Red Cross, which deported them from Gaza on Nov. 25.

“I didn’t think I was going to be released,” he said, “It was like I was reborn.”

But the hardest part was what he saw on October 7, Anucha said. “I lost my friend before my eyes.”

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