64 Filipinos to come home from Israel this week
By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter
SIXTY-FOUR migrant Filipino workers are expected to come home from Israel this week, the Department of Migrant workers (DMW) said on Monday, amid the worsening war between Israel and the Palestinians Islamist group Hamas.
In a statement, the agency said 22 overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) — 19 caregivers and three hotel workers — were scheduled to arrive in the Philippines on Monday afternoon.
The group is the fifth batch of Israel-based Filipino migrant workers to come home. A sixth batch of 42 OFWs will return to the Philippines on Tuesday, it added.
The body of one of the four Filipino caregivers killed during the conflict was to be brought back by her sister on Monday, the DMW said.
The two groups will bring the total number of OFWs repatriated to 184.
“The DMW expects more returning OFWs as hostilities between Israel’s Defense Forces and Hamas show no signs of toning down in the coming weeks,” it said.
The first batch of 15 Filipino caregivers and a month-old infant from Israel arrived in the Philippines on Oct. 18.
Israel launched extensive airstrikes in Gaza after Hamas militants backed by a barrage of rockets stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in a surprise attack on Oct. 7
The country also enforced a blockade and deployed tens of thousands of Israeli troops for a ground assault on the Palestinian enclave.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday said attacks along the route to the Rafah Border Crossing have delayed the evacuation of about 20 Filipinos to Egypt.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose Eduardo A. de Vega said in a WhatsApp message on Sunday his office had yet to confirm who was behind the attacks.
“There are conflicting stories so we cannot confirm anything,” he said. “All we wish to emphasize is that so far, our countrymen in Gaza are uninsured, but we wish them to be able to cross as soon as possible.”
The Philippine envoy said all 136 Filipinos in Gaza have been allowed to leave the strip after the Rafah border crossing opened last week.
As many as 500 foreign nationals, including two Filipino doctors and several injured Palestinians would be allowed to leave the enclave.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Nov. 3 told reporters Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen had committed to ensure the immediate evacuation of Filipinos trapped in the conflict.
About a third of more than 30,000 Filipinos in Israel live in Tel Aviv, according to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. A fifth live in the central district, 12% live in Israel’s third-largest city Haifa and 6.4% are from the northern district.
A tenth of the Filipinos live in the capital Jerusalen, while 5.3% live in the southern district, near Gaza.
Nine of 10 Filipinos in Israel work as caregivers, 8% are permanent residents, 497 are student-interns and 19 are tourists.
Israel is still under Alert Level 2, while Gaza is under Alert Level 4 for forced repatriation.
More than 10,000 Palestinians have died since the war started last month, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Mr. De Vega on Sunday told ABS-CBN Teleradyo the Philippine Embassy in Egypt was trying to convince some Filipinos to cross to safety as the Israeli government was still undecided on whether to allow their Palestinian spouses to also leave Gaza.
“It is better now that there is permission to cross,” Mr. De Vega said. “They will still be able to return to their spouses after the war,” he added.
