TEHRAN: Iran said on Saturday it helped broker the surprise release of Thai nationals who had been held by Palestinian fighters in Gaza since their raid on Israel last month.
On Friday, Hamas unexpectedly released 10 Thais and a Filipino, along with the 13 Israeli women and children that were part of a temporary truce deal with Israel.
Israel in turn freed 39 Palestinian women and children from its prisons.
“The issue of Thai prisoners was jointly pursued by the Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told the official IRNA news agency.
The releases took place as a temporary truce paused fighting in Gaza for the first time since Oct 7.“A list of names of these prisoners was given to Hamas officials to review and assist with the issue from a humanitarian perspective,” Kanani added.
The Thai foreign ministry confirmed the releases on Saturday, saying the 10 individuals — nine men and one woman — had been taken to Israel via Egypt.
It added that roughly 20 Thais are among the estimated 215 people still held hostage in Gaza.
On Thursday, Kanani welcomed the temporary truce as “the first step in the path of completely stopping war crimes committed… by the Zionist regime against Palestinian people.”
Iran, which supports Hamas financially and militarily, has hailed the Oct 7 raid as a “success” but denied any direct involvement.
Tehran has made support for the Palestinian cause a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2023
Source: dawn.com
