The elderly father of a Thai worker in Israel was left devastated by the news his son was among those murdered by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Pitak Tolang, 54, of Khon Kaen province had worked in Israel for over 20 years. He was shot while fleeing the Hamas attack in his car, according to reports.
Speaking from their home in Ban Pa Wai, Mu 11, tambon Don Du in Nong Song Hong district of Khon Kaen, Pitak’s family confirmed to reporters that they had now formally identified his body.
Nonglak Mungmai, 52, the victim’s sister, said Pitak was the third son of seven siblings. He had been married to a Thai woman and divorced her before he went to work in Israel. They had two children.
She said that Pitak had another wife, an Israeli woman, and they had one daughter, Jimmy. During his visit home to Khon Kaen two years ago Pitak had entered into another relationship, with Champi Pongtaisong, and they had been in regular contact.
“My siblings broke the news to our father on Oct 9. He has been in great pain ever since. We learned from Pitak’s fellow workers that he had been shot inside his car. The Hamas killers then dragged him out of his car and onto the street,” said Mrs Nonglak.
Ms Champi told the reporters that during their two-year relationship Pitak had called her every day. They last talked on the phone on Oct 7 about 11.23am, or around 6am in Israel.
Throughout the 4-minute call that day, Ms Champi said, she heard gunfire and the sounds of bombs exploding nearby. She asked Pitak to allow her to make a video call but he refused. Shortly after, Pitakbecame upset and hung up.
Mrs Champi said that Pitak’s daughter in Thailand later made contact with Jimmy in Israel, to confirm that their father was safe.
“[Jimmy] disclosed that Pitak had been shot by Hamas and sent photos of his body to the family [in Thailand]. We asked friends and family who work in Israel to verify the news and all of them confirmed that Pitak died in his sedan,” she added.
The photos also showed that Pitak’s body was dragged from the car and left abandoned on the street, reports said.
The car in which Pitak was killed by Hamas terrorists in Israel.