Israel Amb. Fluss: We want to see Filipinos safe

As the conflict between Israel and the group Hezbollah continues to rage in Lebanon, Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss said Filipinos are free to leave the area, saying he wants them to be safe.

"We are not preventing also the evacuation of Filipinos from Lebanon, certainly not. Filipinos are not part of this war. We are not targeting them. We want to see them safe," Fluss said in an exclusive interview with GMA Integrated News' Pia Arcangel aired on "24 Oras."

At least 11,000 Filipinos are living in Lebanon.

Close to 700 overseas Filipino workers and their dependents have been repatriated by the Philippine government since the outbreak of the fighting.

The government has been urging Filipinos in Lebanon to return to the Philippines while flights are still available, and announced last week that it will charter flights to bring them home.

Israel has stepped up its attacks on Lebanon, saying it is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah. But over the past year, Lebanese officials estimate that more than 2,400 people have been killed and more than 1.2 million people displaced.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has visited Israel and pushed for a halt to fighting in Gaza and a diplomatic solution to conflict in Lebanon.

Fluss, however, said Israel has conditions.

"Israel is of course open and would like to end hostilities, but as I said we need to have some conditions. Number one, release of the hostages, number two to make sure Hezbollah or Hamas cannot regroup," he said.

"We have to make sure that there will not be a Hamas or terror organization preparing for another attack against the state of Israel," he added.

During the interview, it was recalled that Fluss had acknowledged pressures from the international community on Israel's action. He was also reminded of the United Nations Secretary General's condemnation of the "collective punishment" of the Palestinian people.

"I admit that there is a lot of human suffering and of course, there are many casualties, but out of the 42,000, how many of them are Hamas operatives and Hamas combatants? This is something that is not shared by the Hamas Ministry of Health. Let them share the numbers. We are targeting Hamas operatives. We're not targeting civilians," Fluss explained.

"What about the UN condemnation of the women, Israeli women who were sexually abused in October 7. We are seeing a biased approach of the UN against Israel because of politics," he added.

Fluss reiterated Israeli attacks are not directed against civilians, but added, "The moment a humanitarian institution such as a school is becoming a base of Hamas or Hezbollah, it becomes a military subject."

The Philippine government has raised Alert Level 2 for Israel, which means the prohibition of non-essential travel and the entry of new hires.

“We have a big need for workers, and we have asked the Philippine government to uplift the ban or lower the alert level. But of course, according to the assessments of DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and implemented by the Department of Migrant Workers, the decision here is to leave Israel under Alert Level 2 so that no workers coming to Israel, unfortunately," Fluss said.

At least 28,000 Filipinos remain in Israel to date.—LDF, GMA Integrated News