The Philippine authorities on Monday said they had to suspend the pull-out plan of six Filipino nationals from the conflict zone of Gaza Strip due to intensified hostilities in the region.
Only six out of some 108 Filipinos residing in Gaza agreed to be pulled out under the Philippine government's evacuation plan as most of the others chose to stay behind with their families in the Palestinian territory even though Israeli forces stepped up air and ground strikes, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
But Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. said late Monday that the six Filipino nationals, four children, their mother, and a nun, were unable to join the Red Cross convoy out because of the "dangerous and dire situation".
"No evacuation of foreign nationals from Gaza has taken place today," Conejos said, adding that efforts will resume in the next few days to evacuate Filipinos who decide to leave.
Initially, 70 have agreed to be evacuated to Amman, Jordan where they will be flown back to Manila. But a day before the evacuation began, many have backed out and the figure dwindled to six, foreign affairs officials said.
Philippine Ambassador to Israel Petronila Garcia said in a report that many backed out because they can't leave behind their Palestinian spouses and their children, who are not allowed by the Israeli authority to leave under the Philippines' evacuation plan.
There are 20 families in Gaza that contain Filipino nationals who might have lived there for over a decade but retained the Philippine passports, Garcia said, adding that Manila initially planned to pull out all its citizens in the war zone.
In an interview with ANC News, Garcia said the embassy still hopes to extract more Filipinos in the next few days as soon as they get a safety passage from Israeli troops, who have already entered the Hamas-ruled Gaza. "The situation there is very fluid and dangerous. We continue to coordinate with Israeli authorities. Everything depends on the situation on the ground."
Meanwhile, despite intensified attacks on the Gaza strip, Manila is not imposing a deployment ban to Israel and Palestine.
Esteban Conejos, Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs with the Department of Foreign Affairs, said the clashes confined in Gaza has not widely spread into the Israeli territory, where 31,000 Filipinos are currently working.
There is not yet report of Filipino casualties in the Gaza clashes. Manila said it is deeply concerned about the worsening situation in Gaza and Southern Israel and urged both sides to exercise restraint, cease immediately all acts of violence and fully respect international humanitarian law.
Source: Xinhua
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