DFA exec says Israel now under Alert Level 2

An official from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said Israel is now under Alert Level 2 following the attack of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

"Israel now, by decision of Foreign Ministry, is under Alert Level 2 meaning restricted deployment," Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said at a Palace press briefing.

"We're not going to deploy new workers which is actually the status quo anyway because we still have to negotiate agreement about caregivers and about the hotel workers it's by government-to-government and right now there's no deployment," he added.

The DFA said that Alert Level 2 entails restriction of non-essential movements, avoiding places of protest, and preparation for possible evacuation.

Alert Level 3 means voluntary repatriation phase while Alert Level 4 calls for mandatory evacuation or repatriation. The DFA said that the Alert Level 4 is issued when there is a “large-scale internal conflict or full-blown external attack” in the country.

De Vega reiterated that the government is urging Filipinos to refrain from visiting Israel to ensure their safety.

On Saturday, Hamas launched its biggest attack on Israel in years, firing rockets and deploying gunmen to several towns, prompting the Israeli 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.

World leaders have expressed condemnation on the attacks made by the Palestinian group.

The conflict has already resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 people with thousands more wounded.

Two Filipinos were already confirmed dead amid the attacks. A third Filipino fatality is being verified. 

Israel is home to at least 30,000 workers from the Philippines, most of them caregivers, while 167 Filipinos are in Gaza Strip. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News