Thailand’s foreign minister has said he has pressed his Iranian counterpart over the fate of 23 Thais taken hostage by Hamas in its attack on Israel, AFP reports.

Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara travelled to Qatar and Egypt this week for talks on the hostages, and met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Doha, urging him to use Tehran’s alleged links with Hamas to help secure the release of Thai nationals.

“I talked to the Iranian foreign minister and told him the Thais’ work is unrelated to politics and conflict. I asked him to send a message to the Hamas group that they are just labourers.”

All three countries committed their full support to assisting with the negotiations, Parnpree said. “They expressed their view that the earlier the ceasefire, the sooner the hostages can be released,” he said.