October 7 · Personal story
Nutthawaree Munkan
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Southern Israel
Current outcome
Released alive · November 24, 2023
Released alive on November 24, 2023, with nine other Thai nationals.
01
A plan to reunite her family
Nutthawaree Munkan left northeastern Thailand more than a decade before October 7 to work in Australia. She later worked at a fruit-packing factory in Israel, less than two miles from Gaza, while her two children stayed with their grandmother in Thailand. When she was abducted, she had more than a year left on a five-year, three-month work contract.
02
October 7
During the October 7, 2023 attack, Nutthawaree was abducted from southern Israel. The Los Angeles Times reported that she was the only Thai woman among 26 Thai nationals taken hostage.
03
Separated, but not alone
Her mother lost contact with Nutthawaree after the attack. In captivity, Nutthawaree befriended Danielle Aloni and her daughter Emilia; they reunited by video call after release.
04
Released with Bunthom
Nutthawaree was among ten Thai hostages released alive on November 24, 2023. Her mother said a friend sent her a photograph and that Nutthawaree and her partner looked safe and healthy.
05
Family life after return
On November 30, 2023, Nutthawaree embraced her mother and daughter in Khon Kaen. A relative tied ceremonial threads around her and Boonthom’s wrists. By April 2024 the couple had married privately in Thailand. They planned to work abroad again to support their children, while continuing to worry about the hostages still held.