THE Philippine Embassy in Israel yesterday urged Filipinos not to go to Jerusalem and several areas in the country because of the prevailing security condition.
The other areas are Temple Mount, Damascus Gate, Herod’s Gate, Al Wad Road, Musrara Road and areas surrounding ng East Jerusalem.
The same advisory is also in place for West Bank, Golan Heights and near the country’s border with Gaza and Lebanon.
The embassy issued the advisory as Israel commemorated Monday the first anniversary of an attack launched by Hamas gunmen who rampaged through the communities in the country’s border with the Gaza Strip, killing over 1,000 people and abducting more than 250 people.
About 100 of the hostages remained in Hamas captivity.
The advisory was also issued amid fears of war between Israel and Iran and the Iran-allied Hezbollah organization in Lebanon. Iran last week launched a missile attack on Israel in retaliation to Israel’s operations in Lebanon and Gaza.
The embassy also reminded Filipinos to avoid going to areas near military bases, water and power facilities, and other sensitive installations or facilities.
It asked Filipinos to avoid going to public places as much as possible and other areas where people tend to congregate such as malls, market, concerts, festivals or rally for the meantime.
Likewise, the embassy also urged Filipinos taking up public transportation system to be extra vigilant and to report to authorities any sign of trouble and to adhere to the guidelines set by Israeli security forces and the Israeli Defense Forces Home Front Command.
The embassy said Filipinos in need of assistance should call its hotline at +972544661188.
There are around 30,000 Filipinos living and working in Israel and over 2,000 in Iran.
Israel remains under Alert Level 2 which was raised by the Department of Foreign Affairs after the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.
