Pinoys' exit from Gaza delayed due to suspension of Rafah border opening

The expected exit of Filipinos from Gaza on Saturday and Sunday did not push through due to the suspension of the opening of the border to Egypt.

According to Raffy Tima's report on GMA Integrated News' Unang Balita on Monday, the opening of Rafah Crossing was temporarily stopped due to security reasons.

This was after an Israeli air strike on an ambulance being used to evacuate the wounded from besieged northern Gaza killed 15 people and injured 60 others on Friday, the Hamas-controlled enclave's health ministry said.

Israel's military said that it had hit an ambulance "being used by a Hamas terrorist cell" and militants were killed in the strike. According to the military, Hamas was allegedly using ambulances to transfer militants and weapons.

The Rafah crossing to Egypt's Sinai peninsula is the only exit point from Gaza not controlled by Israel. Aid trucks were still able to travel into the territory, a Reuters report said, citing two Egyptian sources.

A total of 46 Filipinos were supposed to leave Gaza in two batches through the border to Egypt.

Evacuations of injured Gazans and foreign passport holders through the Rafah Crossing have been suspended since Saturday, but Egyptian, US and Qatari officials said there were efforts to resume them.

Philippine embassy officials are still for convincing Filipinos who were refusing to cross the border as their Palestinian spouses are prohibited from leaving Gaza. The Filipinos are still hoping that their spouses will be allowed to cross the border.

Usually, authorities release a list of those who will be allowed to cross the border around 3 a.m. to 4 a.m., Cairo time.

Only 46 Filipinos in Gaza have signified interest in crossing the Rafah border to evacuate to Egypt amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday.

Of the 136 Filipinos in Gaza, two have already crossed the border to Egypt. Both were Filipino doctors who are volunteers for the international humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders.

Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7 have killed at least 8,796 Palestinians, including 3,648 children, according to the health ministry in 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 the strikes on Jabalia, Gaza's largest refugee camp, had killed Ibrahim Biari, a Hamas commander it said was pivotal in organizing the Oct. 7 assault, as well as dozens of Hamas militants. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA Integrated News