PHL embassies on alert for attacks on anniversary of Hamas assault on Israel

THE PHILIPPINE government at the weekend said it was on alert for potential security risks in the Middle East as the world marks the anniversary of the Oct. 7 militant attack that led to the conflict in Gaza.

“Either Israel will do something symbolic, or the other side will do something symbolic,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose A. de Vega told a news briefing.

Foreign Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East Marlowe A. Miranda said Philippine envoys were on alert for possible “signs” of conflict. “In those circumstances, Filipinos overseas will rely on advisories from our embassies,” he said.

Mr. De Vega noted that Israel could protect itself, including the 30,000 Filipinos who live there, from potential missile attacks. “They have the defense mechanism necessary to repel all these missile attacks.”

Tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate after Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in response to missile attacks by militant group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

Israel launched a ground operation into southern Lebanon earlier this week, as it vowed to conduct raids against “Hezbollah terror targets” that it said were an “immediate threat” to northern Israeli communities.

Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif last week said there had been “no direct ground clashes” with Israeli forces, denying that they had crossed into southern Lebanon, based on a Reuters report.

The group was “ready for a direct confrontation with the enemy forces that dare or attempt to enter Lebanese territory and to inflict the greatest losses on them.”

Mr. De Vega said more than 100 Filipinos were set to be repatriated from Lebanon in batches on Oct. 11 to 28 amid Israeli bombardments.

They include 15 Filipinos whose repatriation scheduled for Sept. 26 did not proceed after commercial flights were canceled. 

Mr. De Vega said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is prepared to help undocumented Filipinos whose passports are being withheld by their employers.  “If they don’t have a passport, we can always issue travel documents for them to go home.”

He said many Filipinos in Lebanon refuse to go home. He added that the DFA was not seeking to raise the alert for Lebanon to Level 4, which would trigger mandatory evacuation.

“Israel has not conducted a full-scale ground assault like we’ve seen, for example, in 1982 or 2006,” he said. “Of course, we need prayers, so that as we see in our analysis, this will not explode.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza