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Border opening in Gaza delayed anew; 20 Pinoys stranded

Philippines | National

Border opening in Gaza delayed anew; 20 Pinoys stranded

By Joseph Pedrajas

The earlier anticipated border crossing of Filipinos from Gaza to Egypt was delayed for the second time on Monday (Manila time) due to Hamas' continuing attacks on Israel.

"Circumstances keep changing. This is war. But today, 20 [Filipinos] were supposed to leave, but it was suspended due to Hamas attacks," Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said in a text message on Monday.

According to de Vega, the Rafah crossing between war-torn Gaza and Egypt is now "closed indefinitely" and government officials do not know until when it will remain closed.

However, he added, countries "are talking so that the border can be reopened."
In a press conference hosted by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), he disclosed that Filipinos will be prioritized as the border is reopened anew.

On Sunday, Nov. 5, the first batch composed of 20 Filipinos from Gaza were expected to leave. But that did not push through as the border opening was suspended due to security reasons following Israel's attack on an ambulance in the Palestinian territory.

As of Monday, de Vega said, the number of Filipinos who want to leave Gaza decreased mainly because their Palestinian spouses are not allowed to depart.

From 115, only 46 of the 134 Filipinos there are still willing to push through with the repatriation.

A total of two Filipinos were already able to cross to Egypt after the brief opening of the Rafah border. They were two doctors from humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders.

De Vega said the number of Filipinos awaiting border opening by the Rafah crossing is inconsistent throughout the day because they keep on moving. But the 46 Filipinos will be ready to cross any time once they are given notice.

Related Tags

Gaza Israel-Hamas war border crossing

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