October 7 · Personal story
Wichian Temthong
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Wichian worked in an avocado orchard
Current outcome
Released alive · November 26, 2023
Released after 51 days in captivity and returned to Thailand.
01
Before October 7
Wichian went to Israel in late September 2023 to earn more than he could at home. He told ABC that his family faced a home loan, a car loan, rent and food costs, and sometimes borrowed at high interest to get through festival holidays. In Israel he worked among avocado trees at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, only a few kilometres from Gaza. He had been there ten days when the attack began. In his January 2024 interview, he described wanting to build a larger home for his mother and children. He hoped to return to work in Israel for two more years to save enough money.
02
October 7
Gunfire woke Wichian on October 7. A friend told him that fighting happened every year and urged him to get inside, but armed men entered. Wichian raised his hands and called out that he was Thai. Later, while bound with a long electrical cord, he ran after a friend heading toward the village; a captor stepped on the cord and pulled him down.
03
Captivity
Wichian spent 51 days in captivity, much of that time in an underground tunnel with three young Israeli men. They did not share a language, so they relied on gestures and small acts of care. He remembered sharing whatever snack he had, however little, and the men encouraging him to stay strong. In his first days underground, he made a promise to the Buddha: if he survived, he would ordain as a monk.
04
Return
Wichian was released on November 26, 2023, after 51 days. Back in Thailand, his wife Malai met him at the airport; she said she had not known whether he was alive and had posted on social media seeking news. He kept the promise he had made underground and ordained as a monk. The welcome ritual in his home community, which tied white threads around his wrist, brought the body and spirit back together in Thai tradition.
05
After his return
Wichian returned to work and family life in Thailand, though sleep and memories remained difficult. He hoped at first to go back to Israel once it was safer; in October 2024, he told VOA that seeing his children and receiving compensation had helped him rebuild his life, and that he planned to use his funds to help his wife run a business in Buriram. He did not want to revisit the captivity in detail. His three companions from the tunnel had been killed by Israeli soldiers on December 15, 2023, after he was home; he later wrote their names in prayer at a temple.