According to 131 Filipinos in Gaza City move closer to Egypt | Global News (inquirer.net), after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) ordered their forced departure on October 14 night, the 131 Filipinos residing in Gaza City have fled the war-torn territory.
131 Filipinos in Gaza have been registered by the Philippine government, according to a statement released by the DFA on Sunday. It further stated that 78 of them are now residing close to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
In compliance with its critical area warning system, the agency issued a warning Level 4 declaration on October 14, Manila time, at 9:45 p.m.
Four alert levels are used by the agency: Alert Level 1 is used for the cautious phase, Alert Level 2 is used for restrictions, Alert Level 3 is used for voluntary repatriation, and Alert Level 4 is used for evacuation or repatriation that is required.
From Gaza City in the north, which is anticipated to be the primary location of fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants, the remaining 53 Filipinos have relocated to the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Now that Gaza City is under attack, the 131 Filipinos in Gaza are nearer Egypt's border. Hamas is mostly located in Gaza City. According to Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega, the Filipinos have left and relocated south.
The public was given assurances by the DFA that the government would keep up its efforts to assist the Filipinos in returning home and gaining entry into Egypt.
Prior to the Israel Defense Forces' potential ground attack against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, De Vega stated in a televised appearance that the alert status had been raised to Level 4.
Although there was now no route into or out of Gaza, De Vega expressed hope that Filipinos could be able to escape the city via Egypt.
He claims that eight Filipinos, some of whom lost their employment as a result of the confrontation, would be repatriated from Tel Aviv by the Department of Migrant Workers. It is anticipated that they would reach Manila on Tuesday, October 17.
Hamas militants struck Israel on October 7 and are claimed to have killed three Filipinos thus far. According to 131 Filipinos in Gaza City move closer to Egypt | Global News (inquirer.net), Loreta Alacre, Paul Vincent Castelvi, the carer, and nurse Angelyne Peralta Aguirre were recognized as them. It leaves three more unaccounted for.
Around 30,000 Filipinos are in Israel in addition to the 131 who are in Gaza, according to a previous report from the DFA.
According to Administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Arnell Ignacio, the violence may make it more difficult to bring the corpses of the three deceased home.
Repatriation would only take a week or so under normal circumstances. However, given the current unusual circumstances and ongoing fighting, it will certainly take some time. In a radio appearance on October 15, Ignacio stated that it will need more than a week.
However, considering how unstable the situation is, perhaps there will be an opportunity to fly the bodies straight immediately. According to 131 Filipinos in Gaza City move closer to Egypt | Global News (inquirer.net), Ignacio stated that flights are taken into consideration and that they were looking into every avenue to get the corpses home as quickly as possible.
