40 Filipinos leave war-torn Gaza Strip through Rafah crossing, arrive in Egypt

FILE PHOTO: View of the Rafah border area from the Egyptian side, as aid groups await a decision for it to open to enter the besieged Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer

MANILA, Philippines — Dozens of Filipinos fled from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip into Egypt through the Rafah crossing after Filipino diplomats negotiated for their safe passage and Qatar mediated for the border to be opened, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday.

The 40 Filipinos were traveling to the Egyptian capital of Cairo, where they planned to take flights back to the Philippines, Marcos said in a video message in Manila. Two Filipino doctors managed to leave the Gaza Strip into Egypt last week.

READ: Israel gov’t: Kin of OFWs killed by Hamas militants to receive pensions, benefits

“I hope the rest of our countrymen who also wanted to return home can also exit properly with their spouses and loved ones,” Marcos said.

Most of at least 134 Filipinos in Gaza, many of whom are married to Palestinians, have sought help to leave the besieged territory and are waiting for an opportunity to leave, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said.

The Philippines expressed its appreciation to Qatar for its “crucial mediation efforts” in the opening of the Rafah border crossing.

“We acknowledge [and] deeply appreciate Qatar’s crucial mediation efforts in the opening of the Rafah border crossing, allowing foreign nationals, including Filipinos, to exit Gaza,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo said Wednesday in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

READ: OFW bravely stayed with her elderly patient as Hamas barged in to kill

He added that the Philippines and Qatar are “united in the goal of lasting peace in the region.”

The DFA earlier said that the only way out of the war-torn Gaza Strip is through the Rafah border crossing in Egypt.

Rafah border was initially opened on November 1 under a Qatar-mediated deal, allowing an initial number of injured evacuees from Gaza to cross into Egypt.

READ: First evacuees leave Gaza as Israeli offensive intensifies

It was closed and then reopened on November 7, allowing the exit of more foreign nationals, including some Filipinos.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Wednesday that 40 Filipinos have successfully left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing.

Hamas militants rampaged in southern Israel on Oct. 7, which sparked a war between Israel and Hamas.

Before the war began, about 30,000 Filipinos were living and working in Israel, many as caregivers who look after the elderly, the ill and those with physical disabilities, according to the Philippines’ foreign ministry. The huge income they send back home has helped keep the country’s fragile economy afloat.

The Philippines is a major source of manual labor worldwide. | With Inquirer.net report