'Ipagdasal kami': OFWs in Israel run for shelter as rockets fly

Four Filipino hotel employees in Tel Aviv had to run to bomb shelters as the sound of rockets and air-raid sirens filled the air, during an interview with GMA Integrated News. 

In JP Soriano's report on "24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday, before the warning was sounded OFWs Rica, Queenie, Rosi, and Yham were recounting that on Saturday morning, they were woken by a series of sirens warning of impending air strikes.

However, the strikes heard today were different.

"Mararamdaman mo talaga, matindi nag vi-vibrate siya, nag vi-vibrate talaga po, talagang boom! Mararamdaman mo po...at saka sunod-sunod po siya sir," they said.

(You can really feel it, the vibrations, the boom! You could really feel them, and they were coming one after another.)

When the sirens abated, they went out of the shelter to clear up, but had to go back to the hotel when the sirens started up again.

“Sana kung mabalitaan man 'to ng mga pamilya namin sa Pilipinas...ipagdasal kami," said one.

(Hopefully this will reach our families in the Philippines...pray for us.)

"Nagtatrabaho kami para sa kanila pero 'pag dumarating na po talaga yung ganitong sakuna hindi na namin alam kung anong gagawin e," they added.

(We are working for them but when something like this happens we don't know what we're going to do anymore.)

On Saturday, Hamas launched its 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 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 in a separate report.

(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.)

According to Israel's population and immigration authority of Israel, there are about 30,000 Filipinos working or living in Israel.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said that the government is already focusing on the situation and the state of Filipinos in Israel, Palestine, and other parts of the Middle East.

Earlier today, DFA said it had not received so far any reports of casualties. De Vega said no Filipinos have asked to be repatriated yet, but the DFA is ready to do so anytime repatriation is needed. — Sherylin Untalan/BM, GMA Integrated News