THE Philippine Embassy in Lebanon yesterday urged Filipinos living in the southern part of the country to leave as tension continued to rise along the border with Israel following the attack by Hamas militants.
In an advisory, the embassy said it would be better at this time for Filipinos in the southern part of Lebanon to evacuate to ensure their safety.
“Due to the persistent tension in Lebanon’s southern border, posing a significant threat to the safety and security of civilian residents, the Philippine Embassy urges all Philippine nationals close to the border to evacuate preemptively to ensure their safety and well-being,’’ the embassy said.
“Given the unstable situation, Filipinos are reminded to avoid non-essential travel to South Lebanon,” the embassy added.
Filipinos in the area were also advised to get in touch with the embassy in Beirut for assistance at telephone numbers +96170858086 and +96179110729.
Neither the embassy nor the Department of Foreign Affairs provided the number of Filipinos living in the southern part of Lebanon, although the latter said 17,537 Filipinos are living in the Middle Eastern country.
Israeli forces have been trading fire with armed groups in Lebanon since war broke out between the former and Hamas last week.
Hezbollah, the militia supported by Iran which holds sway over the southern part of Lebanon, including near the border with Israel, earlier said more than a dozen of its members were killed in skirmishes with Israel forces.
The Philippines and other countries are still waiting for the opening of the Rafah border crossing in Egypt, which is an exit from Gaza Strip that is experiencing daily aerial bombardments.
Negotiations were ongoing for the opening but a hospital in Gaza was hit by an explosion on Tuesday, killing hundreds. Palestinians blame Israel for the blast.
BACK HOME
Sixteen Filipino workers in arrived in Manila from Israel yesterday, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
Led by DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac, government officials welcomed the first batch of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) repatriated from Israel.
Cacdac said only 16 of the 17 arrived because one experienced hypertension and was unable to join the flight to Manila.
“She will fly in as soon as she is fit to travel,” he also said.
The DMW said the OFWs have been given assistance and other forms of support by different government agencies, including psycho-social counseling, stress debriefing, medical referral, and temporary accommodation while awaiting transit to their respective provinces.
Earlier, Cacdac said 35 OFWs in Israel have requested to be repatriated.
Also back in Manila are 18 agricultural studies graduates who were undergoing training in Israel when the war broke out between the Jewish state and the Hamas.
The 18, who were participating in the agriculture internship program of Agrostudies, an international training center, arrived on Tuesday. They are graduates of the Pampanga State Agricultural University who trained in Israel for 11 months under the training program of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in cooperation with the Israeli government. — With Gerard Naval
