Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning to a population of over 1 million in northern Gaza and Gaza City to seek refuge in the south ahead of a possible Israeli ground invasion, Friday, October 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
MANILA, Philippines — Evacuation of Filipinos in Gaza have become mandatory after the Philippine government raised its crisis warning in the area to Alert Level 4.
“Alert Level 4 na ‘yung Gaza, kailangan umalis na ‘yung mga Pilipino,” said Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega in an interview over TeleRadyo.
(Gaza is now on Alert Level 4, Filipinos must leave.)
READ: Gaza braces for Israeli ground assault
137 Filipinos in Gaza
The government said 137 Filipinos in Gaza have asked to return to the Philippines as the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated since October 7.
The Israeli military said Saturday, October 14, that its forces were preparing to implement a wide range of operational offensive plans as expectations grew of an imminent invasion of the Gaza Strip, a week after Hamas gunmen launched a devastating attack on Israel.
READ: Israeli military preparing for ‘significant ground operations’
Evacuate from Gaza
Israel earlier called on Palestinians to evacuate. The Israeli military claimed “hundreds of thousands” of Palestinians had heeded the warning and headed south. The evacuation call covers an area of 1.1 million residents or about half the territory’s population.
But Palestinians struggled Saturday to flee from areas of Gaza targeted by the Israeli military as they also grappled with worsening water and medical supply shortages.
World leaders urged concerned parties to allow humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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