DFA: 14 repatriates from Gaza now in Philippines

Fourteen repatriates from Gaza arrived in the Philippines on Wednesday amid the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

In a statement, the DFA – Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs said it was the eighth batch of repatriation that the office facilitated since the October 7 attack of Hamas and the subsequent conflict in Gaza with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“We are pleased to know that they safely arrived today in the Philippines,” Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega said.

“As with our past repatriates from Gaza, the DFA, through the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, Egypt provided welfare assistance to the families who arrived today. We hope that it can help them start over,” he added.

The DFA office coordinated their repatriation with the Philippine Embassies in Cairo, Amman, and Doha.

Aside from the DFA, other agencies that welcomed the arrival of the repatriates were the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Manila office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“Welcoming the repatriates is the last part of the DFA-OUMWA’s assistance regularly extended to distressed Filipinos and their families arriving from conflict areas. In a way, we are assuring them that they are now safe in the Philippines,” De Vega said.

Humanitarian agencies warned of looming famine in besieged Gaza as heavy fighting continued on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The United Nations (UN) warned that the 2.4 million people in Gaza are on the brink of famine and could face an “explosion” of child deaths.

According to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, the overall death toll in Gaza was at 29,313. Meanwhile, based on official Israeli figures, 1,160 people were killed in Israel.

New talks were held in Cairo, Egypt for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel, Reuters also reported. — Joviland Rita/RSJ, GMA Integrated News