October 7 · Personal story
Anucha Angkaew
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Near the Gaza border
Current outcome
Released alive · November 25, 2023
Released alive on November 25, 2023.
01
A house he had not yet seen
Anucha Angkaew, also called Art by his family, was the eldest child in a family from Donpila village in Udon Thani province. He was married and had a seven-year-old daughter. Before the attack he had spent nearly two years working on an avocado farm in southern Israel. He sent money home toward a house for his wife and daughter; his father, Pornchai, built the house from Anucha’s design. Anucha had seen it only in news footage and had not yet entered it. Before the attack, he told his mother he hoped to return to Thailand for a visit when he had been abroad for two years. His mother said he called regularly, most recently on October 6. The call she expected the next day never came.
02
Captured on October 7
Anucha was abducted during the October 7 attack in Israel. His mother later said relatives in Bangkok sent her an image of him being taken; she and his father could not eat or sleep after seeing it. The family had last spoken with him on October 6. He had been working on an avocado farm under a five-year contract and hoped to visit home and see the new house his father built from his design.
03
No promise of freedom
In a December 2023 interview, Anucha described beatings and almost all his captivity in small underground rooms. The men slept on sand and initially shared little food and water. Later they made a chessboard and pieces from a toothpaste box. Thoughts of family and favorite Thai food helped sustain hope.
04
A date across two time zones
Anucha was released with a second group of four Thai hostages on November 25, 2023. Thai officials reported that the group could speak and walk normally and wanted to contact relatives. On November 30 he flew home and reunited with his wife and other relatives at Bangkok airport before traveling to Donpila.
05
A homecoming in Donpila
Anucha returned first to his wife and relatives at Bangkok airport, then to Donpila village. Dozens of relatives greeted him there, and his uncle lifted him from the car. The next day, Anucha sat with his daughter in his parents’ home while a string was tied around his wrist in a Thai good-luck ritual. He finally saw the house he had designed and his father built for his family. Anucha said he had previously seen it only in the news. He did not plan to work abroad again and wanted to stay at home with his child.