Five Thai hostages have been released after 15 months of captivity in the Gaza Strip. BEER YAAKOV, Israel — When the mother of one of the Thai hostages held in the Gaza Strip for over a year caught sight of her son on a Facebook livestream after his release Thursday, he had changed so much that she didn’t recognize him at first.

The three Israeli hostages due to be released in Gaza on Thursday have been named by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which also confirmed that five Thai nationals will be freed. “The list of names received from Hamas today by the mediators Qatar and Egypt includes: Arbel Yehoud (29 years old),

The five hostages were among the 31 Thai agricultural workers who were captured by Hamas from four farms close to the Gaza border. Earlier, 23 hostages were released and two, Sudthisak Rinthalak and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, were confirmed dead in May of last year.