A Palestinian man in Gaza City pauses to read a leaflet dropped by the Israeli army on Sunday. The leaflet carries a message urging people to evacuate to the south through the Salah al-Din road amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. | Bashar TALEB/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The exit from war-torn Gaza to Egypt of foreigners, including Filipinos, was delayed over the weekend on account of attacks near the Rafah Crossing by the terrorist group Hamas, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Sunday.
"Circumstances keep changing. This is war. But today, 20 (Filipinos) were supposed to leave, but it (passage) was suspended due to Hamas attacks," DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Eduardo de Vega told DAILY TRIBUNE.
De Vega said that the 20 Filipinos were supposed to cross the border and into the safety of Egypt, where they were to process their documents before their repatriation to the Philippines. "Now, they are supposed to leave tomorrow (Monday)," he added.
De Vega also noted that the number of Filipinos in the Hamas-controlled Gaza who have expressed intent to return to the Philippines has dropped.
Of 136 Filipinos in the besieged Palestinian territory, only 46 now want to return, far from the original 115.
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"The rest still want to go, but they won't leave without their Palestinian husbands or relatives," he said.
The DFA previously said that at least 78 Filipino nationals are married to Palestinians who are not permitted to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing.
Israel has been pressing its war to crush Hamas, nearly a month after the worst attack in the country's history that killed 1,400 and wounded 5,500 in Israel, mostly civilians.
Strikes on Central Gaza have continued amid calls for a ceasefire from Arab countries and desperate civilians after 30 days of war.
The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, which Hamas runs, claimed more than 9,480 Gazans have been killed.
Since Israel sent troops into the narrow Palestinian territory late last month, "over 2,500 terror targets have been struck" by "ground, air and naval forces," Israel's Army said on Sunday.
In a statement, it said ground soldiers were engaged in "close-quarters combat" as Israeli jets were striking targets, including a "Hamas military compound" at an undisclosed location overnight.
WITH AFP
