Hezbollah’s border attacks put Lebanon OFWs in peril
The last time Filipinos were evacuated from Lebanon was during the 2006 Lebanon War, fought between Israel and Hezbollah and lasted 34 days
Daily TribuneThe last time Filipinos were evacuated from Lebanon was during the 2006 Lebanon War, fought between Israel and Hezbollah and lasted 34 days
Israeli soldiers armed with artillery cannons man their position at an undisclosed location in northern Israel bordering Lebanon on October 8, 2023. Fighting between Israeli forces and the Palestinian militant group Hamas raged on October 8, with hundreds killed on both sides after a surprise attack on Israel prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn they were "embarking on a long and difficult war". (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP)
Even as the Philippine government races to help secure Filipinos in Israel amid the war between Israelis and Hamas, the about 34,000 Filipinos in Lebanon may be caught in turmoil sooner or later.
This as Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah said Sunday it fired "large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles" at Israeli positions in a contested border area, as war raged between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The assault was "in solidarity" with a large-scale air, sea, and land attack launched Saturday by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel, the group said, which killed hundreds on both sides.
"The Islamic resistance (Hezbollah)… attacked three positions of the Zionist enemy in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa farms… with large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles," the Lebanese Shiite movement said in a statement.
Lebanese residents near the border area told AFP they had heard a dozen rockets fired toward Israel in the morning. An AFP photographer reported that Israeli surveillance drones flew over the border region.
The Israeli army said earlier Sunday that it fired artillery on southern Lebanon in response to a shot from the area.
"Israeli artillery is in the process of striking the area of Lebanon from which a shot was fired," the army said in a statement without giving further details.
The last time Filipinos were evacuated from Lebanon was during the 2006 Lebanon War, fought between Israel and Hezbollah and lasting 34 days.
The battle caused severe devastation and displacement in Lebanon, killing approximately 1,200 Lebanese civilians and more than 150 Israeli soldiers.
During the war, the Philippine government evacuated about 3,000 Filipinos from Lebanon. Evacuees were transported home on rented aircraft and ships.
There have been no other evacuations of Filipinos from Lebanon since 2006. However, the Philippine government maintains a contingency plan for evacuating Filipinos from Lebanon in the event of another conflict.
Later on Sunday morning, "two (more) rockets were fired from the Lebanese side towards enemy positions in the Shebaa farms," prompting Israel to retaliate with a new artillery barrage, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
Israel warned Hezbollah against being involved in the fighting.
"We recommend Hezbollah not to come into this. If they come, we are ready," army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, which acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel, urged restraint.
WITH AFP
