Israel taking care of Pinoys like family amid war, says envoy

Amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss said Monday that Filipinos in Israel are being taken care of like family members of its citizens.

Fluss said that most of the 30,000 Filipinos in Israel “feel that they are safe” and that they wanted to stay in the Middle East country despite the fatal attacks by Hamas in Israel and vice versa.

“The Filipinos in Israel are part of us. They live with our own people… They are part of our families, they are staying in our homes. When we have to go into a sheltered room or into a bomb shelter or safety room, they come with us,” the ambassador said in an ANC interview.

“You are now joining the Israeli family which is a big family, unfortunately, of the victims of terror. And we are taking care of you as one of our big family in all different kinds of ways,” he added.

Four Filipinos were confirmed dead due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The latest casualty was an Ilongga caregiver who was one of the three Filipinos earlier reported missing.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the Philippines stands with Israel following the deadly attacks by Hamas.

In return, Palestine Ambassador to the Philippines Saleh Mohammad said world leaders who expressed support to Israel amid its conflict with Hamas gave a "wrong message" to Israel, which later on resulted in a "massacre" in the Gaza Strip.

At least 4,000 Palestinians have died due to the war, while the death toll in Israel has exceeded a thousand.

Fluss said that Israel’s retaliation against Hamas is to ensure that these kinds of attacks will not happen again.

He also stressed that Israel has no war with Palestinian people in general.

“Israel is using its missiles to protect its citizens. The Hamas is using its citizens to protect its missiles. That's the difference between the Israel and the Hamas,” Fluss said.—Giselle Ombay/AOL, GMA Integrated News