(Eagle News) – The Philippines’ Department of Foreign affairs (DFA) welcomed the cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, saying it hoped that this ceasefire would hold.

It also maintained the Alert Level 1 or precautionary phase in Israel. Alert Level 1 is issued “when there are valid signs of internal disturbance, instability, and/or external threat to the host country,” according to the DFA.

The truce between truce between Islamic Jihad militants and Israel came after three days of deadly conflict.

The Egypt-brokered ceasefire was reached late Sunday, August 7, and ended the intense fighting that killed 44 people, including 15 children, and wounded 360 in the enclave according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Both sides have reserved the right to respond if the ceasefire is violated.

At the time of the ceasefire announcement, there was no report of any Filipino harmed in the conflict.

The DFA said that it is “monitoring the situation” through its embassies in Tel Aviv and Amman.

“The safety and security of every Filipino overseas remain the priority of the Philippine government,” it said.

“Despite the ceasefire, the DFA reminds Filipinos in the Gaza Strip and surrounding areas to remain in their residences as much as possible, to avoid public areas, and to continue to monitor the security situation through the Embassies’ official communication channels,” the DFA added.

(Eagle News Service with an Agence France Presse report)