Two Filipino medical workers among first to exit Gaza

DFA: No Filipino casualties in Israeli bombings of Gaza refugee camp

MANILA (4th UPDATE) — Two Filipinos working with Doctors Without Borders were among the first group of people to leave the besieged Gaza Strip after crossing the Rafah border to Egypt, the international humanitarian organization and the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday.

"The two have crossed and they will stay in Arish which is the town closest to the Rafah Border and soon they will be going to Cairo," DFA Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega told ANC's "Headstart."

The DFA official said the Philippine government was in touch with the two Filipinos identified as Darwin dela Cruz Diaz and Regidor Esguerra. The two will not be returning to the Philippines but will be deployed elsewhere.

He said it was not the Philippine government but the Doctors Without Borders that was in charge of the 2 Filipinos.

He said the government has also come in contact with 134 Filipinos trapped in Gaza, of which 115 want to be repatriated. Many of those who want to stay in Gaza have family there, he said.

In a separate interview, Doctors Without Borders director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Paul McPhun told ANC that the 2 Filipinos were among the 22 staff they managed to relocate out of Gaza.

"I can confirm that we have two Filipino staff out and safely across the border. They're both medical coordinators so they have important positions. I'm not going into their personal details, let's respect their privacy. But I can confirm, they have crossed into Egypt," he said.

Doctors Without Borders is an international, independent medical humanitarian organization that provides emergency aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion, and natural or man-made disasters.

It won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 for its "pioneering humanitarian work on several continents."

The group has called for a ceasefire in Gaza and for aid to come in.

De Vega lauded the 2 Filipino staff of Doctors Without Borders for their commitment to providing medical assistance to people in Gaza.

“The Doctors without Borders or MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) will assign them to different places, because that is the commitment of that organization which has won a Nobel Prize,” he said.

“And we are proud that at least 2 Filipino[s]...are members of the organization and were sent to very difficult situation under the most difficult circumstances.”

• First foreigners leave Gaza through Rafah crossing; Filipinos told to prepare

Aside from the 2 Filipinos, 20 other DWB staff members were able to cross the border.

DWB Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Paul McPhun, told ABS-CBN News that despite their staff being able to seek safer ground, the situation they faced while tending to dozens of injured civilians was harrowing.

“From our perspective, one of the most horrific conflicts that we found ourselves in. Hospitals we are working in have been attacked. They've been dispersed across the north and south of the Gaza strip trying any which way they can to continue to provide medical care,” he said.

However, many of their Palestinian colleagues “continue to work and provide lifesaving care in hospitals and across the Gaza strip, while the most basic protections for hospitals and medical personnel are not guaranteed.”

The group stressed the importance of a ceasefire, which they say must happen immediately, especially since the healthcare system is “on the brink of collapse”.

“The act of calling for a ceasefire is not a political act, it's purely to allow humanitarian assistance which is an international obligation under international humanitarian law. It's very clear that the health system is facing collapse, not just from attacks but also from blockade and the siege.”

“The situation is about survival. it's a pressure cooker and the situation is starting to crack, to explode and that's becoming completely untenable with no fundamental change, we will see catastrophic impact to the healthcare system, we will see catastrophic loss of life. I just cannot imagine how much resilience people have under this kind of circumstance,” McPhun said.

He added that international awareness on the real situation must happen to help give perspective and a stronger reaction by the international community.

The two Filipino medical workers will be reassigned to a different country. A rotation of the groups’ international team is also in process.

SECOND BATCH OF EVACUEES

There were no Filipinos in the second batch of foreigners allowed to cross Rafah border from Gaza to Egypt, according to Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Wilfredo Santos.

The second list consists of individuals from the following territories, but are not necessarily citizens of these countries:

• Mexico (2)
• Hungary (20)
• Croatia (23)
• South Korea (4)
• Azerbaijan (8)
• Greece (24)
• Chad (2)
• Bahrain (6)
• Italy (4)
• North Macedonia (4)
• Switzerland (11)
• Sri Lanka (17)
• Netherlands (20)
• Belgium (50)
• USA (400)

"We continue to make representations with both Israel and Egypt to allow our nationals to cross the border," Santos told ABS-CBN News.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador Egypt Ezzedin Tago said the DFA and Philippine missions were exerting “a lot of effort” to repatriate Filipinos in Gaza and the West Bank.

“In Cairo, we are awaiting notice on the inclusion of our nationals prior to proceeding to the border,” he said.

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NO FILIPINO CASUALTIES IN ISRAELI ATTACKS ON GAZA REFUGEE CAMP

Meanwhile, De Vega said there were no casualties in Israel’s bombings of a refugee camp in Gaza City.

Around 50 were killed in an air strike in the Jabalia refugee camp, the largest in Gaza City, on Tuesday. Israel claimed a Hamas commander was killed in that strike but Hamas rejected this claim.

Israel bombed the area for a second time on Wednesday.

There are 9 Filipinos in Gaza City, a densely-packed city in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, despite the mandatory evacuation order implemented by the Philippine government under alert level 4.

“All of the 9, including the Filipina nun with the Missionaries of Charity, all the 9 who are in Gaza City are all accounted for. So we know that there is no Filipino casualty in those bombings,” De Vega said.

The group included 6 Filipinos who intended to go to the Rafah Border but returned to Gaza City.

REPATRIATION

De Vega said that more Filipinos in Gaza intend to be repatriated, a vast majority of whom, he said, are women and children.

Of the 134 Filipinos who are still in the Gaza Strip including the 9 in Gaza City, 115 have expressed their intention to go home, up from 78 a few days ago.

The remaining 19, De Vega said, did not want to leave.

“They are, in effect, attached to Palestinian land. That’s partly because they are Palestinians and they are mestizos. And they don’t want to leave their spouses and relatives,” he explained.

The DFA earlier said 57 Filipinos in Gaza were waiting to cross the Rafah Border in the south. He said that figure is now at around 60.

“Once we’re told to cross over, they will be ready. Our ambassadors in both Jordan, which is in charge of the Palestinian authority, and Egypt, which of course, would be the team in Egypt, say that if the Israelis say, ‘alright cross,’ they’ll get them to cross at a moment’s notice wherever they are in Southern Gaza now,” he said.

“We’re calling on our friendship with Israel and Egypt so Filipinos would not have to wait too long. Because there’s 7,000 who have to cross. So it’s going to be complicated. But the intent is for all who want to cross, all foreigners, be able to cross. And we’re counting on that,” he added.

De Vega explained that under Egyptian rules, Filipinos can only stay on transit visa for 72 hours and will have to be flown elsewhere.

Six Filipinos from Lebanon are expected to come home to the Philippines Friday morning after hostilities erupted between Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops in the Middle East nation.

De Vega said there were 17,500 Filipinos in Lebanon but around 10,000 of them were undocumented. He said this was why only a few answered the call for voluntary repatriation. Lebanon is on alert level 3.

• DFA raises Alert Level 3 in Lebanon over Israel-Hezbollah clashes

“Over 200 have asked to return. Of whom, 165 are being processed now. The Embassy specifically mentioned about 112 persons whom we are targeting for repatriation in the next few days and weeks, starting with these 6. The numbers will go up, eventually,” he said.

Some of the 91 Filipinos living along the border of Lebanon and Israel have moved to “safer” ground north while those who stayed are not in areas where Hezbollah is launching missiles or rockets into Israel.

“They don’t feel that their lives are in particular danger,” said De Vega.

He added that 45 Filipinos from Israel were also expected to arrive in the Philippines on Monday, November 6. There are 30,000 Filipinos in Israel.

Additionally, De Vega reported that there were two Filipinos from the West Bank who had crossed into Jordan for repatriation.

"It means our kababayans are listening to the call of the government for them to voluntarily repatriate," he said.

FILIPINOS IN ISRAEL

In Israel, two Filipino caregivers — 1 male, 1 female — are still unaccounted for since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7.

“Unfortunately, we are treating as likely being hostages…because there’s no record, no accounting for them in Israel. However, while it’s not ideal to be hostaged, the alternative would be worse. There are still over 200 bodies being identified by Israeli authorities. People who were victims of the initial onslaught, initial attack on Israel on October 7. 
We hope none of the 2 Filipinos would not be included there,” De Vega said.

Four Filipinos have been reported killed in the October 7 attack.

The remains of only 1 Filipino victim have so far been brought back to the country.

“One is being flown in today. There’s another one next week. One is still waiting for final date for repatriation,” De Vega said.

The recent hostilities between Israel and Hamas have left thousands dead — more than 8,000 in Gaza and 1,400 in Israel.

But the conflict between Israel and Palestine has been ongoing for more than 75 years after more than half of the Palestinian population was displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, in what became known as the “Nakba.”

A 1947 United Nations General Assembly resolution had created a two-state solution which has yet to be implemented.

Palestinians claim they continue to be displaced by Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem while Gaza has been placed on a blockade by Israel and Egypt since 2005.

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Editors' Note: The photo of medical workers Darwin dela Cruz Diaz and Regidor Esguerra has been replaced upon their families' request relayed to the Department of Foreign Affairs.