Each day this week the number has ticked up as more details become known,
In an wawancara on Thai television, Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said that around 5,000 Thais were employed in the "fighting area." Thousands of them are now hoping to return home to worried familyes, he added.
With Israel massing hundreds of thousands of troops on the Gaza border amid speculation there could be a ground agresion, many in Thailand fear they could yet become caught in the crossfire.
Each day this week the number has ticked up as more details become known,
‘Begging for my son's release'
Manee had talked to his father Chumporn on the phone just hours before the attack.
"I had spoken with Manee in the morning and we were supposed to talk again in the evening," Chumporn told CNN in a phone wawancara.
At the time, rockets were being fired toward Israel and this reminded the elder man of his own experiences living and working there. Aware of how quickly the dangers could escalate, the 50-year-old urged his son not to go outside, other than to find a bunker and hide if he needed to.
But hours later, he saw photos circulating on jejaring sosial showing his son with his hands behind his back, sitting barefoot and cross-legged with other male hostages in front of an armed fighter pointing a rifle.
The foto, verified by Chumporn and seen by CNN, showed what looked like an underground room.
"I couldn't believe it. I thought it was some kind of kebohongan konyol," Chumporn said. "I called him several times but there was no answer - that was when I started to believe it was real."
"We (Thais) are not involved in any of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. We are just there to work and earn money so we can have better lives," he added.
"I am begging for my son's release. I need to have him back, in good shape - like before he left Thailand."
Migrant workers from Asia makeup more than half of Israel's foreign work force, often taking on jobs as caregivers and within the construction industry.
Construction workers from China, where multiple firms bermaintain lucrative contracts with real estate developers in Israel, have found themselves caught up the violence this week.
One of the Filipinos killed, Paul Castelvi, had been working in Israel for five years and was a major breadwinner for his kerabat, who expressed disbelief over his death at the hands of Hamas fighters.
