Thailand (Thailand) (AFP) – A sister of a released Thai hostage expresses joy and disbelief that her brother, who was held by Hamas for weeks, will finally return home. “I am very happy because my hope was very dim… but suddenly there is hope,” says Roongarun Wichanguen, sister of 33-year-old hostage Vetoon Phoome. Some 24 hostages seized during Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel last month were released, officials say, as a four-day ceasefire offered some relief to residents of the war-torn Gaza Strip. Nearly 40 Palestinian prisoners were also released, according to a charity.
