By Junex Doronio
PRESENCE OF MIND must have saved the lives of two overseas Filipino workers when they hid inside a “safe room” amid the fierce fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants who made a surprise attack on Israel early Saturday morning but five OFWs are still missing.
This developed as the Department of Migrant Workers (DMWz) said on Monday at least one Filipino was injured following a massive offensive by Hamas against Israel.
“We know of one who got injured in the process of rescue. He got shot in the arm, and grazed by a bullet. But he is not in a life-threatening situation, he is in a hospital,” DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac said in an interview with ANC’s “Dateline.”
He added that the DMW helped at least 25 OFWs and their families move to safer ground in Israel after the Hamas militant group launched its surprise early Saturday.
Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to Israel Pedro Laylo Jr. said Israeli authorities were able to locate two of the seven Filipinos who were earlier reported to be unaccounted for.
“Actually lima na lang (ang unaccounted), ‘yung dalawa bale noong nag-clearing operations ‘yung IDF [Israel Defense Forces] may dalawa na nakita sila,” the envoy said in his interview with Super Radyo dzBB.
He added that Philippine authorities continue to coordinate with their counterparts in Israel to ensure the safety of Filipinos and locate those who have remained unaccounted for.
But the OFWs in Gaza refused to be repatriated at the moment, according to OWWA Administrator Arnell Ignacio
.Around 200 OFWs are braving the retaliatory Israeli airstrikes that have flattened some residential buildings in the Gaza Strip. (ai/mnm)
