OFW in Tel Aviv recalls walls vibrating from rocket attack amid Hamas-Israel conflict

An overseas Filipino worker in Tel Aviv recalled the walls "vibrating" as rockets fired by Hamas hit the city and other locations in Israel.

In Jonathan Andal's report on "24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday, Filipino caregiver Christine Malik said that the sound of the explosions were very strong.

"Napakalakas. Tapos magva-vibrate sa mga pader kahit na nasa stairs kayo. As in talaga yung nginig mo, ugh, talagang nakakatakot po talaga. Siguro po kung hindi hihinto baka umuwi na lang po ako," she said.

(They were very strong. The walls were vibrating even when we were on the stairs. It was really very frightening. I think if it doesn't stop I'll go back home.)

On Saturday, Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years, firing rockets and deploying gunmen to several towns, prompting the Israel government to issue a state of war alert.

Israel launched retaliatory strikes on Gaza, with the death toll on both sides already in the hundreds and continuing to rise. 

The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv has been closed due to the conflict, but it may still be reached through its emergency number +972-54-4661188, its 24/7 hotline number 054-4661188, its assistance to nationals number 050-9114017, and its email address telaviv.pe@dfa.gov.ph

The Department of Migrant Workers and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration also opened 24/7 hotlines for OFWs in Israel and their families:

• landline:
  • +63 2 1348
• Viber and WhatsApp:
  • +63 908 326 8344
  • +63 927 147 8186
  • +63 920 517 1059

"I-report ninyo kung mayroon kayong kamag-anak na nawawala or alam niyong nasa southern region. Kung kailangan niyong umuwi, tutulungan namin kayong umuwi," said Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.

(Report if you have relatives whom you can't locate or who are in the southern region. If you need to go home, we will help you go home.)

Earlier today, DFA said it has not received any reports of casualties among Filipinos in Israel. De Vega said no Filipinos have asked to be repatriated yet, but the DFA is ready any time repatriation is needed.

"We have close to 30,000 Filipino OFWs in Israel. We treat them like we treat any Israel national. We try to protect them as well as we protect our Israeli citizens," said Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss. — Sherylin Untalan/BM, GMA Integrated News