Filipinos in Qatar were told to shelter in place as Iran launched missile attacks on a United States military base in Qatar.

The Philippine Embassy in Qatar on early Tuesday morning, June 24, advised all Filipino nationals in Qatar “to shelter in place until further notice.”

“All Filipinos are urged to continue monitoring the news and heed the advisories issued by local authorities and the Embassy,” the embassy further said.

The embassy also reported that based on the statements from authorities in Qatar, there were no casualties or injuries after the attack.

Qatar authorities assured that they are prepared to address any threats to the security of the country and its residents.

“Gayunpaman, inaabisuhan ng Pasuguan ng Republika ng Pilipinas sa Bansang Qatar ang mga kababayan nating Pilipino na manatiling tumutok sa balita at tumalima sa mga tagubilin ng Pasuguan at ng mga kinauukulan (Nonetheless, the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Qatar advises our fellow Filipinos to stay updated with the news and to follow the instructions of the Embassy and the relevant authorities),” the embassy said.

“Stay informed, alert, calm, and prepared,” it added.

Philippine Ambassador to Israel Aileen Mendiola appealed to Filipinos in Israel to stop peddling fake news, particularly about the embassy's effort to repatriate nationals who volunteered to return home.

Mendiola pointed out that they need all their time to facilitate the repatriation of Filipinos amid the tensions between Israel and Iran, and not get distracted by fake news.

“Ang kailangan sana namin yung mga kababayan namin dito sa Israel, wag maglabas ng fake news naman. Kasi may nagfe-fake news kasi na umalis na raw yung embassy. Yung taga embassy kasi kami yung huling huling umaalis di ba (What we really need from our fellow Filipinos here in Israel is to stop spreading fake news. There are some who are spreading false information, like saying the embassy has already left. But we from the embassy, we’re actually the last ones to leave, right)?” Mendiola said.

According to Mendiola, some of the community members in Israel are already volunteering and offering some of their locations to serve as prepositioning areas for relief goods.

“Yun nga lang, sabi ko nga, para smooth po dapat po wala nang purveyors of fake news. Mahirap na po kasi we spend time clearing up yung fake news. So ang importante po everybody becomes very responsible in terms of the use of their social media kasi nasasayang ho yung time and effort po ng embassy at the same time yung mga community leaders na nasasayang yung oras (It’s just that, as I said, for things to run smoothly, there should be no purveyors of fake news. It’s difficult because we spend time clearing up the fake news. So what's important is that everyone becomes very responsible when using social media because it wastes the time and effort of the embassy—and also the community leaders who are losing time),” Mendiola appealed.

According to the ambassador, 50 more Filipinos have expressed their intention to be repatriated. This is in addition to the 26 nationals and 100 tourists and students who have crossed the border.

“So far, actually meron kaming request na 253, pero 50 yung nag-confirm na gusto talagang umalis. So yun yung inuuna namin, sana kung kaya namin baka bukas kaya namin silang dalhin sa border (So far, actually we have 253 requests, but 50 of them confirmed to be repatriated. So, we are prioritizing them, perhaps they will be brought to the border tomorrow), Mendiola said.

As of Tuesday morning, there is only limited mobility in Israel. Everybody was asked to stay at home but they can go out to buy food, the ambassador said.