Newlywed Thai worker who came to Israel ‘with hope to make a good life’ killed by Iranian cluster bomb

The Thai embassy in Tel Aviv is coordinating the repatriation of the body and compensation for Vallnil’s family. He is survived by his wife, who stayed in Thailand.

Members of the Home Front Command inspect the site where Chaiwat Vallnil was killed in Moshav Adanim (Photo by Ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

Thai workers are one of Israel’s largest foreign labour forces; pre-October 7, roughly 30,000 Thai workers were employed in Israel’s agriculture sector, according to Haaretz.

Vallnil was one of five people killed by Iranian strikes on Wednesday; four Palestinian women were also killed in the West Bank in an impact near Hebron.

In addition, another foreign worker was reportedly wounded in the strike which killed Vallnil.

Foreign workers have borne much of the brunt of the Iranian attacks since the outbreak of war nearly three weeks ago.

The first person killed was Filipina carer Mary Anne Velasquez de Vera, 32, who died “while selflessly assisting her patient to safety” in Tel Aviv.

Her previous employers described her as “an angel on Earth” and contacted the Times of Israel after her death so that the public would know how special she was.