14 more Filipinos leave Gaza

MANILA – Fourteen more Filipinos have evacuated from the Gaza Strip to Cairo in Egypt through the Rafah border, the Philippine Embassy in Egypt said Sunday.

The embassy reported that the Filipinos, along with two Palestinians, crossed the border on Feb. 17.

“This latest batch of repatriates is scheduled to leave Cairo on February 20, 2024 and will arrive in Manila on 21 February 2024,” the embassy said in a public advisory.

Meanwhile, a 63-year-old Catholic nun from the Missionaries of Charity is the only Filipino remaining in Gaza, Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega earlier said.

She chose to stay behind, refusing evacuation since the attacks started as their church served as a refuge for the people, de Vega added.

Last week, Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Wilfred Santos told the Philippine News Agency that they lost contact with the nun around late November. They tried to reach out to her but no one was answering the church’s phone number.

Her church was reportedly hit by a sniper fire.

To date, 136 of the 137 Filipinos have been evacuated from Gaza to Egypt through the joint efforts of the Philippine Embassies in Cairo, Amman and Tel Aviv, and the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs.