Flags of the Philippines and Qatar. INQUIRER STOCK PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines expressed its appreciation to Qatar for its “crucial mediation efforts” in the opening of the Rafah border crossing.
“We acknowledge [and] deeply appreciate Qatar’s crucial mediation efforts in the opening of the Rafah border crossing, allowing foreign nationals, including Filipinos, to exit Gaza,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo said Wednesday in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He added that the Philippines and Qatar are “united in the goal of lasting peace in the region.”
FILE PHOTO: People walk through a gate to enter the Rafah border crossing to Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on
November 1, 2023, after a limited evacuation from the besieged Palestinian enclave was allowed for the first time since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. —AFP
The DFA earlier said that the only way out of the war-torn Gaza Strip is through the Rafah border crossing in Egypt.
READ: No plan B: Rafah border crossing is only way out of Gaza – DFA
Rafah border was initially opened on November 1 under a Qatar-mediated deal, allowing an initial number of injured evacuees from Gaza to cross into Egypt.
READ: First evacuees leave Gaza as Israeli offensive intensifies
It was closed and then reopened on November 7, allowing the exit of more foreign nationals, including some Filipinos.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Wednesday that 40 Filipinos have successfully left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing.
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