Filipinos among Hamas captives?

Philippines condemns attacks on Israel

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino workers in Israel have reportedly been held captive by Islamist group Hamas following the group’s unprecedented offensive that led to more than 250 people killed and thousands displaced, according to the Associated Press, citing Israeli TV.

The Hamas attack on Oct. 7 is an escalation of years of conflict between Israeli and Palestinian forces, with Israeli settler violence recently displacing hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2022 and tensions flaring around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site.

The Philippine government yesterday condemned the attacks in Israel.

“The Philippines condemns the attacks, especially against civilian populations,” the Office of the President said in a statement.

“(The country) understands the right of states to self-defense in the light of external aggression as recognized in the United Nations Charter,” it added.

Israeli TV earlier reported that workers from the Philippines were captured, but Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss maintained that they have not received a verified report that Filipinos are being held hostage.

“We know the (Thailand) nationals involved but we are not aware of Philippine nationals,” Fluss said in an online briefing yesterday.

In an interview with One News, Filipino community in Israel leader Marc Pleños yesterday said that Hamas captured a Filipino caregiver in Kibbutz Be’eri.

No Filipinos have been reported killed or injured in the Hamas attack, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Most Filipinos in Israel are domestic workers or caregivers working in Tel Aviv and Haifa, 70 kilometers away from the Gaza Strip where Hamas attacked nearby Israeli towns during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, DFA Undersecretary for migrant affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega told radio dzBB yesterday.

Department of Migrant Workers officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac noted that they have accounted for 20 Filipino caregivers staying near the Gaza Strip, with a few Filipinos married to Palestinians residing in Gaza. Some are staying in shelters with their employers.

There are around 35,000 Filipinos in Israel, most of