A contingency plan is in place for the almost 30,000 overseas Filipino workers in Israel amid the ongoing war between the government of Israel and the Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist Hamas, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Sunday.

In an interview with Daily Tribune, DFA Assistant Secretary Paul Cortes allayed the public's fears about their relatives who are in the Middle Eastern country.

"The Embassy has a contingency plan in place, especially since they are in an area where our crisis mode is always on top of their agenda," Cortes said.

According to the DFA, there are almost 30,000 Filipinos who consider Israel their second home. Most of them work in the caregiving, hospitality, engineering, and healthcare industries.

Despite the Israeli-Hamas conflict, Cortes said the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv does not see the need to evacuate all Filipinos there.

"So far, although the contingency plan is in place, the Embassy still does not see the need to evacuate all Filipinos there," he said.

At the moment, he noted that Filipinos in Israel – guided by the Philippine Embassy – were advised to follow instructions from the Home Front Command, which is mandated to prepare civilians before, during, and after conflicts such as war.

For his part, DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo said that the Philippine government is monitoring the situation of Filipinos in Israel.

"The Philippines will continue to look after the welfare of Filipinos who are affected by the current situation," Enrique said in a tweet.

'No casualties so far'

In a separate interview, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Eduardo de Vega said there were no reports of injured and killed Filipinos in Israel.

"There are no reported casualties yet," De Vega said in a radio interview.

De Vega said there are only a few numbers of overseas Filipino workers in Gaza, the epicenter of the Israeli-Hamas conflict.