DFA: 59 Pinoys in Lebanon want to come home amid war
FIFTY-NINE Filipinos in Lebanon want to come home amid the worsening war between Israel and Iran-backed Islamist group Hezbollah, according to the Philippine ambassador to Lebanon.
Philippine authorities met with Filipino community leaders on Sunday to check on their situation, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Raymond R. Balatbat told CNN Philippines on Monday.
He said water and food supply in Lebanon was still enough for residents to get by, but they expect a shortage if the conflict worsens.
The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon on Sunday opened applications for Filipinos seeking repatriation via its Facebook page.
“We heard that a number of Lebanese families living near the southern border with Israel have already left the area and have come here to Beirut, so there is a lot of uncertainty and that’s causing panic among people here,” Mr. Balatbat said.
The Philippines on Saturday placed Lebanon under Alert Level 3 amid the hostilities, calling on Filipinos to come home.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose Eduardo A. de Vega on Sunday said there were about 17,500 Filipinos in Lebanon, most of whom are domestic workers.
“Filipinos are being informed that there is a program for repatriation and are advised to go home,” he told ABS-CBN Teleradyo. “We are trying to avoid repatriation during gunfire and conflicts.”
Israel launched extensive air strikes 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.
Israel has also enforced a blockade and deployed tens of thousands of its troops for a ground assault on the Palestinian enclave.
Mr. De Vega on Sunday said Israel was still under Alert Level 2, while Gaza was under Alert Level 4 or forced repatriation.
Hezbollah, which is allied with Hamas, and Israeli military forces have been exchanging fire at the Lebanese-Israeli border in the past few weeks, in the worst escalation of violence in the area since a 2006 war between Israel and the Islamist group.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has said about 4,137 Palestinians have died and more than 13,000 wounded during the war.
On Oct. 20, Hezbollah launched anti-tank missiles across the border, prompting the Israeli Defense Forces to launch air strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing 19 Hezbollah fighters.
“The intensity and frequency of the military exchanges, the mortars, the artilleries, the missile exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel have been increasing in frequency over the past few days,” Mr. Balatbat said.
“Foreigners are urged to leave by their embassies and a number of airlines have been cutting down the flights to Beirut,” he added. — J.V.D. Ordoñez
