THE opening of the Rafah border crossing in Egypt, which could pave the way for the exit of Filipinos from Gaza Strip that is experiencing daily aerial bombardments, remained uncertain.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega yesterday said the border crossing could open “any day now” even as Israeli and Egyptian authorities are still coordinating on the matter because both countries do not want the opening to be used by Hamas militants or for the group to spirit out its hostages out of Gaza.
Earlier, Egypt said it will open the border crossing only for foreign nationals trapped in Gaza, if Israel allows humanitarian aid convoys to the beleaguered territory.
Diplomatic efforts failed to get aid to the besieged Gaza Strip on Monday, and Israel ordered the evacuation of its villages in a strip of territory near its border with Lebanon, raising fears the war could spread to a new front.
Scores of trucks carrying vital supplies for Gaza headed towards the Rafah crossing in Egypt on Tuesday, the only access point to the enclave outside of Israel’s control, but there was no clear indication that they would be able to enter.
Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement that rules Gaza, after Hamas fighters burst across the barrier to Israel on Oct. 7, gunning down 1,300 Israelis, mainly civilians, in the deadliest day in Israel’s 75-year-old history.
The Israeli military is getting ready for the next phase of its campaign against the Gaza Strip but plans may not conform to widespread expectations of an imminent ground offensive, an army spokesperson said.
“We are preparing for the next stages of war. We haven’t said what they will be. Everybody’s talking about the ground offensive. It might be something different,” Lt Col. Richard Hecht told a regular briefing with reporters.
De Vega, in a briefing, said, the border opening “could be any day now at kailangang nakahanda ang mga kababayan natin (our countrymen should be prepared).”
In a message later, he said the Israeli ambassador also said the opening of the border crossing could “be any day now” but things could change depending on the situation on the ground and the ongoing discussion between Egyptian and Israeli authorities.
“We cannot guarantee it (opening) because we were initially told that last weekend, the border would open. Hindi lang natuloy (It did not push through). Kaya, we have to be prepared at any time,” he said.
De Vega said out of the 135 Filipinos in Gaza, 92 have requested to be repatriated to Manila, including a Filipino mother with three children.
Of the 92, he said 78 are stuck in the Rafah border crossing.
The DFA has placed Gaza under Alert Level 4 calling for the mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos there.
He said none of the Filipinos have remained in northern Gaza or Gaza City, the site of most bombardment and hostilities between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters.
“According to our embassy in Amman, Jordan every single one, no one is left in northern Gaza or Gaza City which is the site of hostilities between Hamas and Israel
De Vega said the number of Filipinos who want to be repatriated vary from day to day as most of them do not want to leave their Palestinian husbands.
“That’s the same situation in Ukraine when we try to repatriate Filipinas who said they want to remain with their husbands,” he explained.
Others, he added, told embassy officials that they have gotten used to the on-and-off hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
“They said they have become used to the cycle of hostilities, except that this time, Israel said they are serious and try to eradicate Hamas. It’s a really difficult situation in Gaza, particularly in the northern part,’ he added.
De Vega also said the DFA could not guarantee that the Palestinian husbands of Filipinas will be allowed out of Gaza and be repatriated with their spouses, though he said, their children will be evacuated.
De Vega said 17 Filipinos are set to arrive today from Israel.
Three Filipinos have been killed in Israel after the Hamas attack.
“Unfortunately, there are still three that are missing and it is concerning,” he said, adding the DFA is working through the embassy in Tel Aviv with Israeli authorities to help in locating them.
The Department of Migrant Workers said the 17 will fly in via Etihad Airlines ETA at 3:55 p.m.
HIGH STAKES VISIT
US President Joe Biden will make a high stakes visit to Israel on Wednesday to show support for its war on Hamas, after Washington said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to let humanitarian aid reach besieged Gazans.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip with air strikes that have killed more than 2,800 Palestinians, a quarter of them children, and driven around half of the 2.3 million Gazans from their homes. It has imposed a total blockade on the enclave, halting food, fuel and medical supplies, which are rapidly running out.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Biden’s planned visit at the end of hours of talks with Netanyahu, in which he said Netanyahu had agreed to develop a plan to get humanitarian aid to Gaza civilians. He gave no details.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said only around 14 percent of Gazans had access to water through a single pipe to Khan Younis that Israel allowed to open for three hours on Monday.
“Concerns over dehydration and waterborne diseases are high given the collapse of water and sanitation services, including today’s shutdown of Gaza’s last functioning seawater desalination plant,” UNRWA said in a statement.
“People will start dying without water.”
The World Health Organization said it needs urgent access to Gaza to deliver aid and medical supplies, as the UN agency warned of a humanitarian crisis in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian enclave.
Speaking in London to media in a briefing, Dr Richard Brennan, regional emergency director of the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean regional office, said the WHO was meeting with “decision-makers” on Tuesday to open access to Gaza as soon as possible.
Dr Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, said 2,800 people have died and 11,000 injured in Gaza since Israeli air strikes started. About half of them were women and children. — With Gerard Naval and Reuters
