Palestinian spouses of Pinoys now allowed to leave Gaza

Palestinian spouses of Filipino nationals in the Gaza Strip are now allowed to exit through the Rafah border crossing with their families, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced Tuesday.

"[T]he Palestinian spouses of the Filipinos will also be allowed to leave Gaza with their spouses," DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Eduardo de Vega said.

De Vega said at least 46 Filipinos in the Gaza Strip are expected to leave for Egypt following their delayed repatriation over the weekend.

On Saturday, a minimum of 20 Filipinos, the first batch of repatriates from Gaza, were scheduled to traverse the border between Gaza and Egypt. It was, however, delayed due to the exchange of skirmishes between Israel and Hamas.

So far, at least two Filipino nationals have successfully crossed to Egypt since the 7 October cross-border surprise attack of Hamas in Israel.

The two Filipino nationals were doctors, Drs. Darwin dela Cruz and Regidor Esguerra, both members of Doctors Without Border, crossed the Rafah border crossing on 1 November.

Earlier, the DFA said 115 Filipino nationals had initially expressed intent to return to the Philippines, the number, however, went down to 46.