By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter
MORE than 360 foreign passport holders including two Filipinos were evacuated from the Gaza Strip to Egypt on Wednesday, as Israel intensified attacks against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
At least 115 Filipinos were still waiting to cross into Egypt after the Rafah Border Crossing opened late Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday.
About 19 Filipinos in Gaza had yet to decide whether to cross into Egypt, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita C. Daza told reporters in a WhatsApp message.
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday. As many as 500 foreign nationals and a number of injured Palestinians needing medical treatment in Egypt would be allowed to leave the enclave, it said.
All 136 Filipinos in Gaza have been accounted for after the DFA lost connection with them last week, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose Eduardo A. de Vega said in a WhatsApp message on Wednesday evening. He said none of the Filipinos in Gaza were injured.
Before the Rafah Border Crossing opened, Mr. De Vega said there were only 57 Filipinos looking to cross into Egypt, citing a decrease from the 78 earlier reported as some Filipinos stopped waiting and had gone to southern parts of Gaza.
The DFA earlier placed Gaza under Alert Level 4 for forced repatriation.
Gaza health authorities on Thursday said the death toll in Israel’s war against the Islamist militant group Hamas had surpassed 10,000.
Israel launched extensive airstrikes in Gaza after Hamas militants, backed by a barrage of rockets, stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in a surprise attack last month.
Israel has also enforced a blockade and deployed tens of thousands of its troops for a ground assault on the Palestinian enclave.
In a separate statement, DFA said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo on Thursday wrote a letter to Israel Foreign Minister Eliyahu Cohen seeking assistance to ensure the immediate exit of Filipinos waiting by the Rafah Border Crossing.
“The DFA remains committed to ensuring the protection of our countrymen who are caught in this unfortunate situation,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, Mr. De Vega told the ABS-CBN News Channel six Filipinos in Lebanon would return to the Philippines on Friday morning amid the worsening war between Israel and the Iran-backed Islamist group Hezbollah. There are about 17,500 Filipinos in Lebanon, most of whom are domestic workers.
The DFA earlier placed Lebanon on Alert Level 3, asking Filipinos to come home.
Mr. De Vega said 45 Filipinos in Israel would likely arrive in the Philippines on Nov. 6. Israel is still under Alert Level 2.
“It means our countrymen are listening to the call of the government for them to voluntarily repatriate,” Mr. De Vega said. Two Filipinos were still missing in Israel, he added.
The Philippines was one of 45 countries that abstained from a United Nations (UN) resolution passed last week calling for a sustained and immediate “humanitarian truce” in Gaza. The United States and Israel voted no to the resolution, which was drafted by a group of 22 Arab countries.
The UN resolution is nonbinding but serves as a barometer of global opinion as fighting between Israel and Hamas nears the end of its third week.
Mr. De Vega earlier said the Philippines wanted the UN resolution to paint a more accurate picture of the Oct. 7 attack and armed conflict.
The adopted resolution calls for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” and “firmly rejects any attempts at the forced transfer of the Palestinian civilian population.”
“At every opportunity, the department’s men and women in the region have sought to ensure the safe evacuation of Filipinos out of the danger zones,” DFA said.