BANGKOK, March 22, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Thailand has said it is "disappointed" by the return to hostilities in Gaza and called for the release of hostages, including a Thai national.

Israel on Tuesday began a fresh assault on the war-battered enclave, shattering the relative calm since a January 19 ceasefire.

The strikes, by far the deadliest since the truce took effect in January, have killed more than 500 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. 

"Thailand is profoundly concerned about and disappointed at the return to hostilities in the Gaza Strip," said a Thai foreign ministry statement released on Friday.

The Southeast Asian nation urged "all sides to exercise utmost restraint, cease the hostilities and resume negotiations to implement the ceasefire and hostage agreement". 

It called for the release of remaining hostages in Gaza -- including one Thai -- and the repatriation of the bodies of two Thai nationals. 

When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, 31 Thais were abducted, with 23 released by the end of that year and two confirmed dead in May. 

Five more abducted Thais returned home in February following their release as part of the January ceasefire, with one Thai national still believed to be alive in Gaza.