MANILA: The Philippine government said on Wednesday it was concerned over the safety of 136 Filipinos in Gaza, as there was no way to evacuate them amid intensifying Israeli airstrikes and blockade.
The number of people killed in Gaza has exceeded 5,790 since Oct. 7, when Tel Aviv began its bombardment of the densely populated enclave following an attack on Israel by the Gaza-based militant group Hamas.
Women and children make up over 60 percent of the dead, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, while more than 16,290 people have been injured. Hundreds of others remain missing, many under the rubble as rescue teams have not been able to reach them.
The Philippine government has already evacuated some of its nationals from Israel, but not from Gaza as Tel Aviv has not allowed the passage of foreign nationals from the enclave through the Rafah crossing into Egypt.
“Our main concern now is the Filipinos in Gaza, because they’re the ones under a humanitarian crisis,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told reporters in Manila.
“One hundred thirty-six are still there.”
The Philippine nationals are mostly overseas workers and individuals who are married to Palestinians. While authorities in Manila intend to evacuate all of them, De Vega said that many are likely to choose to stay with their spouses.
He estimated that out of 136 Filipinos, about 70 would register for evacuation.
“Let’s remember that a lot of the Palestinians also have the belief that they should not leave Gaza because that will be like giving in to Israel. Israel supposedly hopes that there’ll be less Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “So, that partly explains why other Filipinos want to remain there with the Palestinian spouses.”
In recent days, Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings and hospitals have increased, killing hundreds of people daily, despite repeated calls by international organizations for a ceasefire and humanitarian access.
Israel has also cut off power, water, food, fuel and medicine supplies to Gaza, stepping up its 16-year blockade of the enclave that is home to 2.3 million people.
The Philippine government will respect the decision of those who choose to remain, although the situation is worsening.
“We’ll see what we can do to help them given that there’s a blockade,” De Vega said.
“Our Filipino kababayans (countrymen) are resilient. They know what to do.”
