The reopening of the Rafah border crossing which will serve as the gateway to exit Filipinos from the war-torn Gaza Strip could be happening "any day" now, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

In a television interview, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Eduardo de Vega said that the Rafah border crossing remained closed to Palestinians, including foreign nationals, who are scrambling to escape from the planned ground offensive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

"As of now, there is still no approval to allow foreign citizens to enter Egypt through the Rafah crossing," De Vega said.

"The only hope is the Rafah border crossing. Israel and Egypt are coordinating the process because they also do not want Hamas to leave Gaza and enter Egypt," he added.

He continued: "But let us way because the Israeli ambassador said it could be any day now."

De Vega said there are 135 Filipinos in the Gaza Strip, revising its previous count.

"After the raising of the alert level, there were an additional four," he said.

He noted that the additional four are composed of one Filipina mother and her three children.

"These four also want to go home," he stressed.

The DFA said that at least 92 Filipinos in the Gaza Strip have expressed intent to return to the Philippines following the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian Sunni-Islamic extremist Hamas.
It also noted that all of the Filipinos who are currently stranded in Gaza are accounted for.

De Vega said at least 78 Filipinos are already at the Rafah border crossing, waiting to cross for their safety.

From there, the official said, the Philippine government authorities may start the repatriation of Filipinos.

Over the weekend, the Philippines placed the Gaza Strip under Alert Level 4, which means the repatriation of Filipinos in the area is now mandatory.