Filipinos out of Gaza this weekend — PBBM
(Photo by Yummie Dingding)
Filipinos trying to get out of Gaza might be able to cross into Egypt this weekend "at the latest," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday, citing a commitment from the Israeli government.
Two Filipino health workers with Doctors Without Borders left Gaza through the Rafah gate on Wednesday after it was reopened amid the Hamas attacks on 7 October.
In a press briefing, Marcos said that the Israeli government assured Philippine Ambassador Pedro "Junie" Laylo, Jr. that more Filipinos could cross the Rafah border on Friday or Saturday.
"I know many people are worried about our Filipinos in Gaza, in Israel, in the middle of the war. It is, unfortunately, completely out of our hands. We have no control over this," Marcos said.
"All of our buses are ready, and our embassy in Cairo is prepared. They have been waiting at the crossing, the Rafah crossing, for a long time. They are ready for when the time comes for Filipinos to cross, and they will bring them back home," Marcos added.
Marcos added that the Philippines extended a helping hand to support other Southeast Asian nations in the safe evacuation of their residents from Gaza.
"There are many Thais, Vietnamese, and people from various other nationalities, so we said, let's help each other out. It looks like we are the ones there first because the presence of Filipinos in the area is much higher than the others," the Chief Executive noted.
"Hopefully, it will come true so that we can evacuate everyone who wants to leave and bring them back home to safety," Marcos added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) previously reported that approximately 57 Filipinos in Gaza were waiting to cross the Rafah border in the south.
Egypt recently announced that the most severely injured individuals, foreigners, and dual nationals could leave Gaza, which has endured weeks of continuous Israeli bombardment.
Israel launched an offensive in Gaza in response to a major attack by Hamas gunmen that resulted in the deaths of around 1,400 people, primarily civilians, according to Israeli officials.