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Normalcy in Israel returning; embassy recommends lowering alert – DFA
By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency
Alert level 2 means restriction phase, where new deployments are still prohibited.
(Pexels Photo)
MANILA – The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv has now recommended the lowering of alert level in Israel, currently under repatriation phase, as the country returns to normalcy after its 12-day military campaign against Iran.
“For Israel, there is already a recommendation to lower it to alert level 2. But we still have to get the approval of the secretary,” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Germinia Aguilar-Usudan said in an interview with reporters on Thursday.
Alert level 2 means restriction phase, where new deployments are still prohibited.
She said completely removing the alert is unlikely as of the moment as “it has to go gradually” and that the Philippines needs to observe how the situation develops first.
Aguilar-Usudan, meanwhile, said the Philippines hopes the ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran would hold.
“Everybody is thinking about peace, we’ve experienced it a few days ago how difficult it was for our people in the Middle East and also all over the world,” she said.
“We are hoping that this will hold, with the United States backing this ceasefire.
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Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega said both Philippine Ambassador to Israel Aileen Mendiola and Philippine Ambassador to Iran Roberto Manalo are reporting a return to normalcy in their jurisdictions.
Israel has officially ended its state of emergency after declaring a “historic victory” in its Operation Rising Lion, which decimated several Iranian nuclear sites from June 13 to 24.
The Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command has since lifted all restrictions on schools, public gatherings, and workplaces.
