Alerts raised in Kenya, Gaza

Israeli infantry soldiers get ready to walk to their armored personnel carriers to take up new positions on the Israel-Gaza border, Saturday, July 12, 2014. AP

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday announced it had suspended the deployment of newly hired overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kenya where crisis alert level 2 had been declared due to the “deteriorating security situation.”

“Under alert level 2 (restriction phase), Filipinos are advised to restrict their movements and avoid unnecessary travel [to] crowded places,” the DFA said in a statement.

By raising the alert level, the DFA would allow only returning OFWs with current employment contracts to go to Kenya.

Last month, violence erupted in Kenya after a group of Somali extremists attacked a town, assaulted police and set establishments on fire.

News reports said that since the attack in mid-June, the death toll had reached 100.

Meanwhile, due to the outbreak of violence as a result of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the DFA has likewise raised alert level 2 in the Gaza Strip.

Philippine authorities advised the estimated 109 Filipinos in Gaza to restrict nonessential movements and prepare for possible evacuation.

Alert level 1 (precautionary phase) was hoisted in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory, and southern and central Israel.

About 113 Filipinos reside in the West Bank, while 36,400 are in Israel.

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