39 Filipinos in Gaza expected to cross to Egypt after delay

John Victor D. Ordoñez and Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporters

THIRTY-NINE Filipinos in Gaza were expected to cross to Egypt by Tuesday evening through the Rafah Border Crossing after a slight delay spurred by attacks, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.

The 39 Filipinos were waiting by the border, while seven were having second thoughts about leaving their Palestinian spouses, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose Eduardo A. de Vega told an online news briefing.

“Their processing [for repatriation] once they get to Egypt won’t take long, and they will be able to cross to Egypt by this evening, we’re sure of that,” he said. The Rafah Border Crossing reopened at about 3 p.m. Philippine time.

Mr. De Vega said the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs had verbally agreed to let the Filipinos cross with their Palestinian spouses. DFA was still waiting for a written approval before they could leave.

The agency on Sunday said attacks along the route to the Rafah Border Crossing had delayed the evacuation of about 20 Filipinos to Egypt, while the second batch of 26 Filipinos was also set to cross the border.

It was not known who was behind the attacks.

The Philippines earlier placed Gaza under Alert Level 4 for forced repatriation, while Israel is under Alert Level 2.

The fifth batch of 22 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Israel arrived in the Philippines on Monday, while the sixth batch of 42 Filipinos arrived on Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said in a statement. 

A total of 184 OFWs have come home as of Tuesday, it added.

Mr. De Vega said all 136 Filipinos in Gaza have been allowed to leave the strip after the Rafah border crossing opened last week.

As many as 500 foreign nationals, including two Filipino doctors and several injured Palestinians, had been allowed to leave the enclave.

DMW on Monday said it expects more OFWs to return in the coming weeks amid the worsening war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Israel launched extensive airstrikes in Gaza after Hamas militants backed by a barrage of rockets stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in a surprise attack on Oct. 7

The country also enforced a blockade and deployed tens of thousands of Israeli troops for a ground assault on the Palestinian enclave.

More than 10,000 Palestinians have died since the war started last month, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. At least four Filipinos have died in the war.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Nov. 3 said Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen had committed to ensure the immediate evacuation of Filipinos trapped in the conflict.

“We recall the Oct. 7 assault and we express our sympathies for the losses,” Mr. De Vega said. “We are hoping that civilian lives lost will be minimized because we are concerned about innocent Palestinian civilians.”

Meanwhile, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong pushed a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“That is the most viable solution in order to address the 75-year conflict between Palestine and Israel,” he told the House of Representatives plenary.

He said former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) negotiator Mahmoud Abbas in 1993 signed the Oslo Accords, the first peace agreement between Israel and Palestine that sought to fulfill the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

But the Israeli government had failed to recognize the accord and maintains total control over Palestine, Mr. Adiong said.

“We must resolutely advocate for a return to the negotiating table, a renewed commitment to upholding agreements that pave the way for a just and enduring peace,” he said in a privilege speech. “This means breaking the chains of the blockade, dismantling the structures of apartheid and heralding the birth of a fully recognized Palestinian state.”

Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez said the conflict between Israel and Palestine could widen if countries including the Philippines do not push a ceasefire.

The two-state solution would pave the way for “peaceful coexistence” between Israel and Palestine, he told the plenary.