40 Filipinos escape from war-torn Gaza

Forty Filipinos were able to escape to better grounds after crossing the Rafah border from Gaza to Egypt, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed on Wednesday.

Marcos announced in a video message as Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said one of the first people to leave Gaza was a Palestinian married to a Filipino.

The Philippine government was still deciding how many Filipinos were still in Gaza who wanted to leave the area. Still, De Vega said that at least 30 Palestinians married to Filipinos had already signed up to leave the strip.

"(The 40 Filipinos) are now heading to Cairo where they will depart to return permanently to our country in the coming days," Marcos said in a video message.

Marcos thanked the governments of Israel and Egypt for "giving priority" to Filipinos during their lengthy exit through the Rafah Crossing at various times. He also thanked Qatar for helping to make the evacuation deal.

The president said he hopes that soon the Filipinos and their loved ones who are still in Gaza will be able to go back to their families in the Philippines.

A television report mentioned that the Filipinos had to wait about three hours in Gaza before they could leave. They then had to wait ten hours for Egyptian officials to process their papers before they could enter.

There were also two pregnant women among the first 40 people who left Gaza, according to the story. They were from six families.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) previously announced that Israeli authorities have provided a list of approximately 500 individuals allowed to leave the area. Once Palestinian refugees from Gaza depart, they cross into the Egyptian side, where officials handle their entry procedures.

The DFA stated that the Philippines is ready to receive Palestinians who are married to Filipinos and manage to leave Gaza. De Vega mentioned that since the beginning of October, Philippine embassies in Egypt and Jordan, which oversee the state of Palestine, have been preparing the necessary documentation for their entry into the Philippines.