PH urges Filipinos in Lebanon to leave after Israeli airstrikes

TARGETED AREAS Fire sweeps over the Marjayoun plain in southern Lebanon after it was hit by Israeli shelling on Friday. —Photo by Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Embassy in Beirut on Friday said it “strongly urges” Filipinos in Lebanon to leave that country, amid an Israeli strike that day following a pause in ceasefire talks with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

“The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon strongly urges all Filipino citizens to leave Lebanon immediately while the airport remains operational. We advise all Filipino nationals to prioritize their safety and depart the country as soon as possible,” the embassy said in a Facebook post on Friday.

READ: Israel confirms striking Hezbollah weapons depots in south Lebanon

It added that “If you are unable to leave Lebanon, we strongly recommend that you evacuate to safer areas outside of Beirut, south Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.”

The embassy was referring to areas already targeted or likely to be hit by the airstrikes.

READ: Iran could make ‘significant’ attack on Israel this week – White House

It also posted an online form which Filipinos seeking repatriation can fill out. And its mobile numbers were included in the post which Filipino workers and those with permanent resident status can contact.

“The safety and security of every Filipino citizen is our top priority,” the embassy said.

Retaliation

Other countries have also urged their citizens in Lebanon to leave, since tensions have soared in recent weeks after a July 27 rocket strike blamed on Lebanon’s Hezbollah killed 12 children and teens in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel responded with the killing on July 31 of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in the suburbs of Beirut.

Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate, as has Iran for the killing in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, political chief of Hamas, also on July 31.

State news agency NNA of Lebanon said on Saturday that five people were wounded and 10 were killed, including two children, by the Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the city of Nabatieh in south Lebanon.

Israel’s military said, however, that the airstrike targeted a weapons depot used by Hezbollah militants.

NNA said the fatalities were all Syrian citizens, adding that a final toll would be announced after DNA tests confirm their identities. —reports from Jacob Lazaro