66 Pinoys set for repatriation from turbulent Gaza – DFA
(Updated 3:58 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines — At least 66 Filipinos living and working in Gaza Strip have agreed to be repatriated as Israel continues its military offensive in the region, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Sunday.
In a text message to reporters, Foreign Affairs undersecretary for migrant workers affairs Esteban Conejos Jr said the Philippine government has already made arrangements for the Filipinos who have agreed to return to the country to escape the hostilities in Gaza.
“We have booked flights for 66 Philippine nationals who have agreed to leave Gaza and be repatriated to the Philippines," Conejos said, adding that the plan's execution would depend on the actual situation on the ground.
Conejos further said that government will move the Filipinos to Amman, Jordan by land on Monday where they will take a flight back to Manila. No Filipino will stay in Jordan, he added.
“It will be used as a departure area for the evacuated Filipinos,” he said. “We decided to evacuate them a day after Israel and Jordan gave a permission for the Filipinos to enter their territories but only for transit. That’s why we already bought airline tickets,” he said.
Interviewed in Radyo ng Bayan, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said there are about 102 to 106 Filipino nationals belonging to 21 Filipino families living at the Gaza Strip.
He assured that the Philippine government is prepared to assist, including evacuate, the other Filipinos in the Gaza Strip whenever they are ready.
The government will shoulder the Filipinos’ repatriation costs but Conejos said Manila would seek assistance of the International Organization of Migration (IOM) to help the Philippines move the remaining Filipinos out of Gaza Strip.
“There is a war going on and Israel has commenced ground operations. You can’t get more extreme than that,” Conejos said.
The Assocaited Press reported that thousands of Israeli troops backed by columns of tanks and helicopter gunships launched a ground offensive in Gaza on Saturday night, with officials saying they expected a lengthy fight in the densely populated territory after eight days of punishing airstrikes failed to halt militant rocket attacks on Israel.
The incursion set off fierce clashes with Palestinian militants and Gaza's Hamas rulers vowed the coastal strip would be a "graveyard" for Israelis forces.
"This will not be easy and it will not be short," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on national television about two hours after ground troops moved in.
Army ambulances were seen bringing Israeli wounded to a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. The military said a total of 30 soldiers were injured in the opening hours of the offensive along with "dozens" of militants.
The night sky over Gaza was lit by the flash of bullets and balls of fire from tank shells. Sounds of explosions were heard across Gaza City, the territory's biggest city, and high-rise buildings shook from the bigger booms.
Troops with camouflage face paint marching single file. As the ground troops moved in, Israel kept pounding Gaza with airstrikes. F-16 warplanes hit three targets within a few minutes, including a main Hamas security compound.
Gaza residents said troops were seen before dawn Sunday in the town of Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza City, and the sound of intense fighting could be heard just east of the city, toward the border with Israel.
In the city itself, the Hamas-run Al Aqsa radio station was in flames from a missile strike. Staff had evacuated the building about a week earlier, at the start of the Israeli offensive, and continued broadcasting from another location.
"We have many, many targets," Israeli army spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich told CNN. "To my estimation, it will be a lengthy operation."
Israeli leaders said the operation, known as Cast Lead, was meant to quell militant rocket and mortar fire on southern Israel. They said it would not end quickly but that the objective was not to reoccupy Gaza or topple Hamas. The depth and intensity will depend in part on parallel diplomatic efforts that so far haven't yielded a truce proposal acceptable to Israel, the officials said.
In the airborne phase of Israel's onslaught, militants were not deterred from bombarding southern Israel with more than 400 rockets — including dozens that extended deeper into Israel than ever before. They fired six rockets into Israel in the first few hours after the ground push began, the military said. - GMANews.TV/ AP
In a text message to reporters, Foreign Affairs undersecretary for migrant workers affairs Esteban Conejos Jr said the Philippine government has already made arrangements for the Filipinos who have agreed to return to the country to escape the hostilities in Gaza.
“We have booked flights for 66 Philippine nationals who have agreed to leave Gaza and be repatriated to the Philippines," Conejos said, adding that the plan's execution would depend on the actual situation on the ground.
Conejos further said that government will move the Filipinos to Amman, Jordan by land on Monday where they will take a flight back to Manila. No Filipino will stay in Jordan, he added.
“It will be used as a departure area for the evacuated Filipinos,” he said. “We decided to evacuate them a day after Israel and Jordan gave a permission for the Filipinos to enter their territories but only for transit. That’s why we already bought airline tickets,” he said.
Interviewed in Radyo ng Bayan, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said there are about 102 to 106 Filipino nationals belonging to 21 Filipino families living at the Gaza Strip.
He assured that the Philippine government is prepared to assist, including evacuate, the other Filipinos in the Gaza Strip whenever they are ready.
The government will shoulder the Filipinos’ repatriation costs but Conejos said Manila would seek assistance of the International Organization of Migration (IOM) to help the Philippines move the remaining Filipinos out of Gaza Strip.
“There is a war going on and Israel has commenced ground operations. You can’t get more extreme than that,” Conejos said.
The Assocaited Press reported that thousands of Israeli troops backed by columns of tanks and helicopter gunships launched a ground offensive in Gaza on Saturday night, with officials saying they expected a lengthy fight in the densely populated territory after eight days of punishing airstrikes failed to halt militant rocket attacks on Israel.
The incursion set off fierce clashes with Palestinian militants and Gaza's Hamas rulers vowed the coastal strip would be a "graveyard" for Israelis forces.
"This will not be easy and it will not be short," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on national television about two hours after ground troops moved in.
Army ambulances were seen bringing Israeli wounded to a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. The military said a total of 30 soldiers were injured in the opening hours of the offensive along with "dozens" of militants.
The night sky over Gaza was lit by the flash of bullets and balls of fire from tank shells. Sounds of explosions were heard across Gaza City, the territory's biggest city, and high-rise buildings shook from the bigger booms.
Troops with camouflage face paint marching single file. As the ground troops moved in, Israel kept pounding Gaza with airstrikes. F-16 warplanes hit three targets within a few minutes, including a main Hamas security compound.
Gaza residents said troops were seen before dawn Sunday in the town of Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza City, and the sound of intense fighting could be heard just east of the city, toward the border with Israel.
In the city itself, the Hamas-run Al Aqsa radio station was in flames from a missile strike. Staff had evacuated the building about a week earlier, at the start of the Israeli offensive, and continued broadcasting from another location.
"We have many, many targets," Israeli army spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich told CNN. "To my estimation, it will be a lengthy operation."
Israeli leaders said the operation, known as Cast Lead, was meant to quell militant rocket and mortar fire on southern Israel. They said it would not end quickly but that the objective was not to reoccupy Gaza or topple Hamas. The depth and intensity will depend in part on parallel diplomatic efforts that so far haven't yielded a truce proposal acceptable to Israel, the officials said.
In the airborne phase of Israel's onslaught, militants were not deterred from bombarding southern Israel with more than 400 rockets — including dozens that extended deeper into Israel than ever before. They fired six rockets into Israel in the first few hours after the ground push began, the military said. - GMANews.TV/ AP
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