Ahead of the expected ground assault by Israel against the Islamic extremist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Philippine government greenlighted yesterday the mandatory repatriation of its nationals trapped in the bombed-out Palestinian enclave.

Philippine authorities have placed the Gaza Strip under Alert Level 4, under which the repatriation of all Filipinos in the area becomes a must, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

But before the government can repatriate the Filipinos trapped in the conflict area, it must first be able to evacuate them, an official told reporters in a media forum in Quezon City.

"Of course, it doesn't mean that we can go in and just get them out of Gaza. Nobody can go in and out, so far," Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Eduardo de Vega said.

Citing data from the Philippine Embassy in Jordan, De Vega said there are 131 Filipinos in the Gaza Strip, where the Hamas had retreated, taking with them over a hundred hostages, after attacking Israel last 7 October, killing nearly 2,000 Israeli civilians.

De Vega said Filipino nationals were among the thousands scrambling to escape from the planned ground invasion of Israel in northern Gaza.

"The remaining Filipinos there have also left," he said. "They are in other parts of Gaza now. So, hopefully, they are free from collateral damage."

The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of the 1.1 million people living in Gaza City and northern Gaza as it vowed to "wipe out the top political and military hierarchy of Hamas."

At least 78 Filipinos are attempting to cross the Gaza-Egypt border, De Vega revealed.

"Right now, we are hoping that they'll be able to cross into the Egypt border. There are nearly 78 already who are crossing, except Egypt is still not yet opening the crossing to allow Palestinians, not just Filipinos," he said.

At least three Filipinos have been killed in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, while three others are still unaccounted for.

Heed gov't call

Meanwhile, Senator Imee Marcos on Sunday Marcos called on Filipinos in the Gaza Strip to heed the government's call for their repatriation.

"Thailand and Korea have rescued their citizens while our fellow Filipinos are still waiting and undecided — a Filipino trait — we're always last minute," she said.

She added: "Just like in floodings, they do not want to leave their house. They don't want to evacuate. However, when they decide to leave, it is too late already."

She said signs point to a drawn-out war between Israel and Hamas, thus the need for Filipinos to leave Gaza to avoid being caught in the middle of the fighting.

Aside from the 78 trying to cross into Egypt, there are also 30 other Filipinos in southern Gaza and 23 others who have relocated out of Gaza City.

Even as the United States sent a second aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean in an apparent move to stop any country from attacking Israel, Marcos said the Philippines should not be overly dependent on Americans to defend its territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea.

Three wars

Manila, she said, should focus on strengthening its defense posture instead of relying on the US to protect itself from external threats.

"One more thing that maybe we should think about is that although we are far from Israel and the Gaza Strip, it means that the Americans, on whom we depend in the West Philippine Sea, are in three wars," she said.

She added: "So, we should not depend on our allies to defend the Philippines. We should be more self-sufficient and strengthen our self-defense posture."

Aside from the Israel-Palestine conflict, she said, the US has involved itself with the Russia-Ukraine war. She added the Philippines must also prepare for a potential oil crisis.

"We can see that even America said that their oil reserves are depleting," Marcos said. "They have strategic petroleum reserves, but what about us?"