Philippines eyes deployment of caregivers after Israel ceasefire

ABS-CBN News Posted at May 24 2021 08:51 AM The Philippines is eyeing the redeployment of hundreds of Filipino caregivers to Israel after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended days of conflict. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the government is monitoring the ongoing truce, which ended the fiercest fighting between Israel and Hamas since a 2014 Gaza war. He said he will also consult with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. if it is safe to redeploy Filipinos to Israel. "Tiyakin muna natin na igagalang nila 'yun at baka may violation," he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo. (We have to make sure that they will respect the true because there might be violations.) Police raids in and around al-Aqsa during Ramadan, as well as planned evictions of Palestinians from homes claimed by Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem, drew long-range rocket attacks by Islamist Hamas on May 10. Israel and the two main armed groups in Gaza agreed to a ceasefire last week, ending end 11 days of deadly violence. The Philippines earlier raised Alert Level 2 in Gaza, which meant a suspension of deployment of workers in the area. Bello said the government was not prohibiting the deployment of workers but "merely suspending their actual departure while the tension is still high." Israel hosts some 30,000 OFWs, most of whom are domestic workers, according to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

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