20 Filipinos in Gaza to cross Rafah Border on Sunday —DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday said that 20 Filipinos stranded in Gaza will exit the war-torn Palestinian city and go to Egypt, through Rafah Crossing on Sunday.

At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said, “The first batch of Filipinos [will be] leaving tomorrow… There will be 20 of them.”

“Then afterwards it could be the next day or next two days, a batch of 23… so far only 43 now of the Filipinos have signified that they definitely want to leave Gaza,” de Vega said.

The 43 Filipinos who crossed the border to Egypt “will be picked up by our Embassy in Cairo and within [72] hours they will be required to leave because it is only a transit visa they are bearing.”

The DFA official said that the Philippine government has received a notice from its Israeli counterpart that all 136 Filipinos in Gaza have been given approval or clearance to exit the Palestinian city amid the war between Israeli forces and militant group Hamas. 

Of the 136 Filipinos, de Vega said, two have already crossed the border to Egypt.

They are the Filipino doctors, who are volunteers for the international humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders.

They are now safe in Egypt, according to the DFA.

De Vega said that around 7,000 foreign nationals are allowed to use Rafah Crossing to exit Gaza but only 500 to 600 are allowed to cross the border daily for an orderly process.

The DFA official noted that no Palestinian nationals, who are either relatives or spouses of Filipinos, are allowed to exit Gaza.

“No spouses are going to accompany them (Filipinos),” he said, adding that “they have no clearance to leave Gaza.”

Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss earlier said that its government "will do everything" to ensure the safety of Filipinos who want to exit Gaza Strip

"We will do everything we can in order to facilitate the safe exit of the Filipinos from Gaza," said Fluss.

The assurance extends to all Filipinos living in Israel added Fluss.

"Let me also say that we are doing everything we can in our hands, of course, to make sure for the safety of the Filipinos that are living in Israel," he said.

Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7 have killed at least 8,796 Palestinians, including 3,648 children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Israel launched the strikes after Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 300 soldiers and 1,100 civilians, and taking more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

Israel sees Hamas, which has vowed to destroy the Jewish state, as an existential threat.

The Israeli military said Tuesday's strikes on Jabalia, Gaza's largest refugee camp, had killed Ibrahim Biari, a Hamas commander it said was pivotal in organizing the October 7 assault, as well as dozens of Hamas militants.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it had deployed missile boats in the Red Sea following long-range drone and missile attacks claimed by the Houthis in Yemen. —VAL, GMA Integrated News