Around 13 more Pinoys exit Gaza via Rafah border

Another batch of more or less 13 Filipinos in Gaza already crossed the border to Egypt on Monday (Cairo time) amid the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

According to a report of Raffy Tima on Unang Balita, these Filipinos together with their Palestinian spouses and relatives are expected to arrive in Cairo after exiting Gaza via Rafah Border Crossing.

Around 20 more Filipinos in Gaza however are still refusing to cross the border.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega called on the remaining Filipinos in Gaza to take the opportunity to leave while the Rafah Border Crossing is still open.

“Napakasama na ng kondisyon ngayon sa Gaza kaya naman tugunin niyo ang panawagan namin na mandatory repatriation at samantalahin na habang ngayon pa bukas pa ang border crossing. Kasi hindi natin matitiyak na bukas palagi iyan” he said.

(The conditions now in Gaza are really bad. That's why we are hoping that you would heed our call for mandatory repatriation. Seize the opportunity while the border crossing is still open because we cannot guarantee that it would always be open.)

If they still do not want to leave Gaza, the Philippine government will look at other assistance it can give them, De Vega said.

De Vega visited Cairo to relay a message to Egypt’s foreign ministry from DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo. After this, he will also go to Israel.

Egyptian sources said at least seven injured Palestinians plus more than 80 foreign nationals and dependents, with more undergoing border procedures, arrived on Egyptian soil on Sunday, according to a report by Reuters. More than 32 Egyptians also crossed over, they added.

On November 2, two Filipino doctors volunteering for the international organization Doctors Without Borders safely crossed the border from Gaza into Egypt. They were followed by 40 more Filipinos on November 8.

On November 10, 56 more Filipinos left Gaza, according to President Ferdinand "Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. However, the DFA said 14 of the 56 Pinoys decided to stay and not proceed to Cairo after their Palestinian spouses were not provided security clearance.

De Vega said 16 Palestinian spouses of Filipinos in Gaza have been allowed by the Israeli government to leave the occupied territory.

However, some Palestinian spouses of Filipinos are prohibited from leaving Gaza after failing to secure security clearance set by the Israeli government.

The Rafah Crossing to Egypt's Sinai peninsula is the only exit point from Gaza not controlled by Israel. Aid trucks travel into Gaza through Rafah Crossing.

The expected exit of Filipinos from Gaza on November 4 and 5 did not push through due to the suspension of the opening of the border to Egypt over security risks.

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, 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".

Israel has been bombing targets across the Gaza Strip since Hamas fighters carried out an unprecedented deadly attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7.

About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas attacks on October 7 and 240 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.

More than 11,000, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza by Israeli air strikes, the Hamas health ministry in the territory said, according to a report by Agence France-Presse. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA Integrated News