DFA urges Filipinos in Israel, West Bank, Gaza to exercise caution with alert levels now raised in those areas

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on a house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 19, 2021. (Photo by Said Khatib / AFP)

(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs urged Filipinos in Israel and the West Bank, and Gaza to take extra precautions with the alert levels over those areas now raised.

In a statement, the DFA said the 29,473 Filipinos in Israel and the West Bank, which are now under alert level 1 or a precautionary phase, should follow the advice of the host government and the nearest Philippine embassy.

Meanwhile, the 91 Filipinos in Gaza should avoid unnecessary travel and prepare for possible evacuation with Gaza now under an alert level 2 or in a restriction phase.

The department said Filipinos in those areas may contact the following embassies:

Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel:
Facebook Page: Embassy of the Philippines in Israel (https://bit.ly/33WIC6T)
Emergency hotline: +972 54 466 1188
Philippine Embassy in Amman, Jordan:
Emergency hotline: +962 777988818
Philippine Embassy in Cairo, Egypt:
Facebook Page: Embassy of the Philippines in Egypt (https://bit.ly/3u2CbJS)
ATN hotline: +20-122 7436472

Israel and Gaza militants continued their attacks on Thursday, even as a Hamas official predicted a ceasefire in the near future.

The fighting began on May 10, with Palestinian health officials saying 228 people have been killed in aerial bombardments in Gaza so far.

Israeli authorities, on the other hand, said the death toll was so far at 12.