Leave Lebanon now, Pinoys told

The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon has “strongly” urged Filipinos to leave the country while the airport remains operational.

In an immediate evacuation notice posted by the embassy on Friday, Filipinos working in the Middle Eastern nation were directed to prioritize their safety and depart the country as soon as possible.

“If you are unable to leave Lebanon, we strongly recommend that you evacuate to safer areas outside of Beirut, South Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley,” the embassy said.

“The safety and security of every Filipino citizen is our top priority. We urge you to act swiftly and follow the above instructions to ensure your safety,” its advisory added.

The latest Israeli attack in southern Lebanon killed at least 10 people, according to authorities.

Israel’s military claimed on its Telegram channel that its air force had struck a weapons warehouse of the Hezbollah militant group overnight “in the area of Nabatieh,” about 12 kilometers from the nearest point to the Israeli border.

The strike was one of the deadliest in Lebanon since the Iran-back Hezbollah group started trading near-daily fire with Israeli forces in support of its ally, Hamas, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people since the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza.

Last month, Hezbollah senior military commander Fuad Shukr was killed after an Israeli air strike in a suburb of Beirut, while an air strike in Tehran resulted in the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migration Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega said, “Filipinos remain adamant about staying there. The ones interested in leaving are those who just arrived recently.”

“In effect, the embassy is saying that conditions in Beirut may look safe, but you never know. So you should leave while you still can. Other countries are making similar calls to their citizens,” he said.

A total of 738 Filipinos had requested repatriation but 45 of them still have papers pending with immigration.

Meanwhile, 15 Filipinos cannot leave because they have ongoing court cases, while 322 have withdrawn their applications.

Of the 11,000 Filipinos in Lebanon, more than 300 have returned home.

Ambassador to Beirut Raymond Balatbat, meanwhile, has yet to recommend raising the alert level in the country, where voluntary repatriation or alert level 3 is in effect.

“As of raising alert level 4, we are closely monitoring the situation and making necessary preparations for the evacuation sites to absorb the expected number of repatriates,” he said.

ME war spreads

On Saturday, at least six people were killed while three were injured in Nabatieh City south of Lebanon in attacks the Lebanese health ministry attributed to Israel.

De Vega said there are still a “handful” of Filipinos in southern Lebanon but none were affected by the attacks.

“(The Philippine embassy in Beirut) is validating the numbers of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) still residing in the big cities of southern Lebanon like Nabatiyeh, Tyre and Sidon,” he said.

“There are no OFWs residing in border towns near the Blue Line where most of the fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah is taking place,” he added.

Uncertainty lingers over a potential wider conflict in the region as Hezbollah threatens to retaliate against Israel over the death of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the killing of Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month.

Israel said Shukr was responsible for the rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children.