Newly-installed Israel Ambassador to Manila Dana Kursh is urging the Philippines to lift its current travel alert order on Israel, assuring that the country is “safe” despite an ongoing conflict with neighboring Gaza.

The envoy said in an interview on the sidelines of the celebration of the Feast of the Tabernacles on Thursday, Oct. 9, shared about a recent meeting with Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Hellen De La Vega, with whom she raised the issue about the current travel alert.

“Please, if you assess, ask your ambassador in Israel, Ambassador Aileen, please elevate the travel advisory. I can tell you that many nations around the world, Thailand and other nations, have already elevated it,” she added.

The ambassador compared the situation in Israel to the recent 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Cebu province, which she said should not stop tourists and travelers from visiting the Philippines.

“But it's the same depictions in outside. It's a catastrophe zone, whether it's war, whether it's an earthquake, and I can't come. Yes, you can come, but we have to come. We have to celebrate, we have to get our connection,” she told reporters.

“And I do hope and pray that the Secretary of DFA, Secretary Teresa, will decide, will evaluate the situation together with the ambassador, and that this voice of hope and peace will be translated to elevation of this travel advisory,” Kursh added.

Travel alert in Israel was lowered to level 2 from 3 in June this year, with the DFA citing the improved security situation in the country.

Alert Level 2 reminds Filipinos to avoid non-essential travel to the country. This includes, among others, tourism visits, pilgrimages, temporary stays with relatives and friends, volunteer work, sports events, entertainment, and similar activities.

The alert level was raised amid the increasingly violent conflict between Israel and Gaza that has so far led to thousands of deaths.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, United States President Donald Trump announced that Israel and militant group Hamas had agreed on the first phase of his Gaza peace plan.

According to the plan, the Palestinian militant group would release all hostages while Israel would pull its troops back to an agreed-upon line.

Hoping that ”more and more” Filipinos will visit Israel, Kursh belied media reports that Israel is a war zone and stressed that Israelites and tourists are going about their activities normally.

“But in so many ways, the only way that we are fighting terrorism is not to be terrorized by the terror, not to be afraid so not to stop going out enjoying life, going to restaurants, going to hotels, going to the swimming pool,” she said.

Currently, there are also 30,000 overseas Filipino workers staying in Israel, the envoy added.