A barrage of rocket fire from Lebanon hit northern Israel yesterday, killing a total of seven people, including four Thai workers, the Associated Press reported. The attacks were the deadliest strikes against Israel since its military invaded southern Lebanon in early October.
Four Thai nationals were killed and one – wounded, from a rocket attack near the city of Metula, not far from the border between Lebanon and Israel, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa wrote today on the social media platform “X“, Reuters reported.
Last year, 41 Thais were among the 1,200 killed, according to Israeli authorities, when “Hamas“ launched a cross-border attack on October 7, 2023. Thirty Thai nationals were abducted then, and six are believed to still be in captivity, according to Bangkok authorities.
Before the conflict, about 30,000 Thai nationals worked in Israel, mostly in the agricultural sector, making up one of the largest groups of migrant workers in Israel.
„Thailand continues to strongly urge all parties to return to the path of peace, for the sake of the innocent civilians seriously affected by this protracted and deepening conflict," said Thai Foreign Minister Maris.
The Israeli army warned people to evacuate more areas in southern and eastern Lebanon and launched airstrikes that killed at least 24 people. About 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced since the escalation of the conflict, according to estimates by the government in Beirut, AP reported.
Meanwhile, international mediators are intensifying their efforts to stop the wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip and are announcing new proposals to end the regional conflict.
Lebanon's health ministry said more than 2,800 people have been killed and 13,000 wounded since October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel, provoking retaliatory strikes.
The number of victims of Israel's war, which began more than a year ago – “Hamas” in Gaza exceeded 43,000, Palestinian officials said this week, without specifying how many were civilians and how many were militants.
The war started after the “Hamas“ Extremists invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 250.