Summary of Press Briefing

on Wednesday 11 October 2023 at 15.00 hrs.

Press Conference Room, MFA and via MFA Facebook Live

1. Overview

1.1 Mrs. Kanchana Patarachoke, DG of Info. Dept. and MFA Spokesperson, held a press conference to provide updates on the meeting of the Rapid Response Center (RRC), chaired by Mr. Jakkapong Sangmanee, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, this afternoon to discuss the unfolding situation in the Middle East and the evacuation plan for Thai nationals.

1.2 She provided updates from Ms. Pannabha Chandraramya, Ambassador (Amb) of Thailand to Israel, regarding progress made by the Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv (RTE), as well as other Thai agencies, to assist and evacuate Thai nationals.

1.3 Also present at the press conference were Mr. Naruchai Ninnad, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs, to provide information on the repatriation of Thai nationals and their health check-up upon arrival at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, Ministry of Public Health, as per the Department of Disease Control’s standard operational procedure. Mr. Samart Pattamasukhon, Inspector General from the Ministry of Labour, then provided information on the repatriated Thai nationals and compensation packages under the Thailand Overseas Employment Administration Fund.

2. Statistics regarding Thai nationals

2.1 Death toll: 20 (same as this morning).

2.2 Number of injuries: 13 (same as this morning)

2.3 Number of Thai nationals taken hostage: 14 (same as this morning)

2.4 Number of Thai nationals who have registered for voluntary repatriation (slightly increased from the numbers provided this morning): Amb updated the RRC meeting this afternoon that 5,174 Thai nationals have registered for voluntary repatriation, while 64 have indicated their intent to remain in Israel.

3. Evacuation Plans

3.1 The meeting prepared for the confirmed arrival of 15 repatriated Thai nationals tomorrow morning (12 Oct.) at 10.35 hrs. at Suvarnabhumi Airport, as well as the evacuation of 120 or more Thai nationals via Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) aircraft on Sunday afternoon (15 Oct.), arriving at Don Mueang Airport on Monday at 04.40 hrs. (16 Oct.).

3.2 The meeting noted RTE’s ongoing coordination with commercial airlines to repatriate more Thai nationals from Israel and the confirmed repatriation of 80 Thai nationals via commercial flight next Wed (18 Oct.), arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport the following morning at 11.00 hrs. (19 Oct.).

3.3 The RRC meeting this afternoon also discussed the timeline for further evacuations via RTAF aircraft once more Thai nationals have been relocated and assembled in safe zones.

4. Assistance from Government Agencies

4.1 MFA Thailand will dispatch additional officials to Israel to facilitate the repatriation of Thai nationals and agencies stand ready on arrival of Thai nationals to provide the necessary support and assistance.