Over half of Hamas' hostages hold foreign nationality -- 54 hail from Thailand alone
By Alex Oliveira
Over half of the estimated 220 Israeli hostages captured by Hamas are also citizens of other countries, Israeli officials announced Wednesday.
At least 138 of the of the hostages had foreign passports, including 12 Americans, 12 Germans, 15 Argentinians, and six from both France and Russia, according to Reuters.
Many of those people are believed to have dual nationality with Israel, except 54 Thais, five Nepalese, and single hostages from China, Sri Lanka, and two from both Tanzania and the Philippines.
Thailand is one of Israel's largest sources for foreign laborers -- about 30,000 are employed in the country's agricultural sector. At least 24 Thais have been confirmed killed in Hamas' October 7 surprise attack on Israel, while 21 remain unaccounted for.
Foreign victims identified as dead or missing in Hamas' massacre totaled 328 people from 40 different countries, Israel said. At least 1,400 people in total were killed by the terror group.
Besides Thailand, foreign nations that experienced high death tolls included the United States with at least 34 dead and five still missing, Ukraine with 25 dead and two still missing, France with 23 dead and one missing, and 23 Russians dead and four missing.
China lost five citizens and one remains missing, and Nepal lost five while five more remain missing.