October 7 · Personal story
Phonsawan Pinakalo
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Agricultural work in southern Israel near Gaza
Current outcome
Released alive · November 26, 2023
Released on November 26, 2023; arrived in Thailand on November 30.
01
A farm worker far from home
Phonsawan came from Nakhon Ratchasima in Thailand’s northeast. He had worked in Israel’s agricultural sector for about four years to earn better wages and drove a tractor on a farm less than four kilometres from Gaza. His father said they usually spoke over video calls. He was 30 when his release was reported in November 2023.
02
The call before silence
On October 7, Phonsawan told his father he heard gunshots, unusual in the farm area. He and others took shelter in a bunker for several hours. By afternoon, his father could no longer reach him. Later reporting identified Phonsawan among the Thai workers abducted that day from the southern Israeli agricultural communities.
03
Fear for the family left behind
In a later interview, Phonsawan described trying not to dwell on what might happen because he feared he would not see his family again. He also spoke for the Thai workers still held, wishing they could all return. His account gives a small, direct view of captivity: the thought of home stayed with him.
04
Release, then the journey home
Phonsawan was released on November 26 after nearly seven weeks in captivity. Four days later he arrived in Thailand with the first returning group. His father met him at the airport. His father told reporters he had feared his son was dead and called the reunion a blessing.
05
A father’s embrace
At Suvarnabhumi airport, Phonsawan went to his father, and the two embraced in tears. His words to reporters carried relief and grief together: he wanted his fellow workers to return too. The family’s reunion closed the long wait that began when the morning call ended and no further contact came.