Seventeen Filipinos in Israel who have opted for repatriation are expected to arrive in Manila this afternoon, as hopes brighten for the others wishing to leave the devastated Gaza with the possible opening “any day now” of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.
In a statement, the Department of Migrant Workers said the Etihad Airlines plane carrying the 17 Filipinos is expected to arrive at 3:55 p.m. today.They were from southern Israel where militant group Hamas launched unprecedented surprise terror attacks on Oct. 7.
“Israel will help in bringing home the remains of the Filipinos killed and will extend assistance to the bereaved families,” the embassy said in a Facebook post. The names of Filipinos in Gaza, including the 78 waiting to be allowed into Egypt through the Rafah border, have been submitted to Egyptian authorities for processing of their request.
“I am one with those calling for the opening of a humanitarian corridor in southern Gaza – as spearheaded by the UN or other international institutions – to get all innocent civilians, most especially our OFWs, out of harm’s way,” Rep. LRay Villafuerte said. One of the missing Filipinos – 42-year-old Grace Prodigo Cabrera of Maasin in Iloilo – may have been abducted by Hamas militants, Maasin Mayor Francis Amboy said yesterday.She told the mayor that Grace was able to send a message to their cousin on the day of the attack on Oct. 7 claiming she saw several heavily armed men arriving in Be’eri Kibbutz, the “ground zero” of the Hamas attacks.
“DSWD Field Office social workers continue to monitor and assess the situation of the family in order to extend other appropriate interventions that they may need as they go through this difficult period,” DSWD Western Visayas Regional Director Carmelo Nochete said in a report to DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
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