The Philippine Embassy in Israel does not see the need to raise the alert level in the Middle Eastern country following the retaliatory strike of Iran on Saturday.
“Awaiting updates from Ambassador Pedro Laylo Jr. in Tel-Aviv. So far, he sees no need to raise the alert level in Israel beyond current Alert Level 2,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Eduardo de Vega told DAILY TRIBUNE.
Citing reports from Laylo Jr., the Philippine Ambassador to Israel, De Vega said no Filipino was harmed in the attack, as Israel’s defense system successfully intercepted the drone and missile attacks.
“The Israeli Iron Dome defense was able to defend Israel from the Iranian drone attacks. No one was hurt,” he said.
The Philippine government, through the DFA, placed Israel under Alert Level 2 following the 7 October surprise cross-border attack by the Palestinian Sunni-Islamic extremist group Hamas in Israel.
Iran launched an aerial attack on Israel to retaliate for a strike on its consular affairs in Damascus, Syria earlier this month.
Deadliest
The attack, described as the deadliest to date since the start of the shadow war between Israel and Iran, resulted in the death of Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a top commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, as well as several other Iranian officials, including diplomats.
Iran vowed to retaliate for the deadly attack on its consulate in Syria, which indicates more bloodshed in the already highly tensioned Middle East following the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza last October.
Israel did not immediately react to the allegations that they were behind the attack until Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari indirectly confirmed it last week.
Hagari noted that based on their intelligence, the facility they “targeted” in Damascus was “not a consulate” but a “military building of Quds forces.”
The Quds Force is one of five branches of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations.
Israel is home to about 30,000 Filipinos, while there are about 2,000 Filipinos in Iran.
