BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and ASHEL HACHERO
PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said 40 Filipinos have finally left Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, and expressed hope more will be able to get out of the Palestinian enclave which is being subjected to air strikes and ground offensives by Israel in response to attacks by the militant group Hamas last month.
There were 137 Filipinos in the Gaza Strip, mostly women who are married to Palestinian nationals.
The President thanked Qatar, Israel, Jordan and Egypt for their help in the safe passage of the 40 Filipinos who will be repatriated to Manila from Cairo.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the 40 were expected to reach Cairo Wednesday.
Last Friday, Israeli Ambassador to Manila Ilan Fluss said his government is doing everything it can to help Filipinos trapped in Gaza to exit through the Rafah crossing.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said earlier said the Israeli government gave its permission for the 136 Filipinos in Gaza to flee to safer grounds through the Rafah crossing.
Prior to this, De Vega also said two Filipino physicians who are volunteers of the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders successfully exited the Gaza Strip last week.
The 40 Filipinos were met by Philippine Ambassador to Cairo Ezzedine Tago and other embassy officials when they crossed into Egypt. The group, who were on board two buses, made a stopover in el-Arish, Egypt to eat and rest for a while.
El-Arish is around 30 kilometers from the border with Gaza.
Included in the group are 19 youths and two pregnant women.
The Rafah crossing is the only exit from Gaza not controlled by Israel. Aside from serving as exit points for foreign nationals, trucks ferrying aid to Palestinians in war-torn Gaza also travel through the Rafah crossing. It was closed after Hamas crossed into Israel and launch attacks on October 7, killing over 1,400 and taking about 240 hostages back to Gaza.
It took weeks of negotiations before the Rafah crossing was opened last week, though the exit of Filipinos and other foreign nationals was delayed after Israel and Hamas traded accusations of attacks on ambulances ferrying the wounded to Egypt.
The DFA last month placed Gaza City, Hamas’ main stronghold in the territory, under Alert Level 4 which means mandatory evacuation of Filipinos in the area. As of yesterday, Gaza City is encircled by Israel troops.
De Vega appealed to the Filipinos still in Gaza to proceed to Rafah crossing as soon as possible.
Asked when the next batch of Filipinos will cross to Egypt, De Vega said, “It could be in the next 24 hours that they will allow the next batch and it could be another batch of 50 or even maybe over a hundred Filipinos plus Palestinian spouses.”
“If you stay in Gaza out of your own free will, there’s no guarantee first of your safety, and number two, that you’ll be given priority in future days’ crossings, so please cross as soon as possible,” he added.
De Vega said the 40 Filipinos now in Egypt will remain in Cairo until November 10 when they will be repatriated to Manila.
He added that Egyptian authorities initially approved the crossing of 46 Filipinos but six decided to stay, including one who had a sick child who needs to be hospitalized.
Meanwhile, nine overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Lebanon were expected to arrive in the country Wednesday night.
“This will be the third batch of returnees from Lebanon coming home to the Philippines as a result of the heightened artillery and rocket exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militant group,” said the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
Ten OFWs from Lebanon have returned home — four on October 28 and six on November 3. — With Gerard Naval