An injured Thai worker who suffered a bullet wound on his knee has pleaded to be repatriated amid the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza.

Construction worker Ratchakorn Putthasorn, 40, urged Thai authorities to rescue him and his Thai colleagues following attacks on the region from Hamas.

Ratchakorn said he had been shot in his left knee during an assault by fighters on Saturday October 7 but managed to survive by hiding in a 'worker campsite'.

He said he had managed to contact the Thai Embassy to coordinate his return to his homeland but was told he needed to arrange for transportation to the airport by himself despite the battle raging outside.

Ratchakorn said his wound had already begun to swell from a possible infection, prompting him to ask for aid from the relevant Thai agencies.

Overseas employees from Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines, have been caught in the crossfire of the long-running territorial and religious war, that exploded on Saturday when rockets were launched by Hamas from Gaza into the Jewish state of Israel.

Officials said at least 21 Thai nationals and two Philippines nationals have been killed. Thousands have pleaded to return home but military aircraft are currently not allowed to land in the war zone. Some have booked commercial flights from the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, with planes continuing to arrive and depart despite Palestinian threats to target the airport.

The Israeli government has formally declared war on Hamas and vowed 'significant military steps' to retaliate against the organisation over the surprise attack that saw hundreds of civilians killed at a music festival and in their homes in a number of villages.

Israel has also called up 300,000 reservists even as its military has said that it has regained large swathes of territory in the south of the country.

Hamas has pledged to kill its Israeli hostages if the military targets civilians. Hamas has said they have 130 hostages, including both soldiers and civilians.

The long-running conflict is based on Palestinian opposition to the existence of a Jewish state in what Palestinians believe is their homeland. Some Palestinian groups pursue political dialogue but Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza, favors military action.