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MANILA: The first group of 34 Filipinos evacuated from Gaza reached Manila on Friday, with some forced to leave their family members behind.
Of the 136 Filipinos trapped in Gaza since Israel began its daily bombardment of the densely populated enclave last month, so far 82 have been evacuated to Egypt through the Rafah crossing.
The remaining ones have also received clearance from Israeli authorities to leave, but according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, many have decided to stay as Israel has not allowed their Palestinian relatives to cross the border.
Most of the Filipinos in Gaza are permanent residents. Two-thirds of them are Palestinian Filipinos who were born or raised there.
One of the evacuees, Lucina Al-Qadiri, a nurse who has been living in Gaza since 2012, told Arab News upon arrival at Manila airport that it was her Palestinian husband who requested her to leave.
“What you see on TV, it’s true … People there are getting pulverized,” she said. “My husband is in the UAE, but my eldest son is still there in Gaza.”
Her son could not join her as his wife, a Palestinian national, was not granted clearance to leave.
“He has a newborn baby, born Oct. 6. The baby had problems with breathing,” Al-Qadiri said.
“I really tried with the Philippine Embassy to bring my daughter-in-law, because they did not include Palestinian spouses … It was very inhumane. My son wouldn’t agree to leave his wife behind. I also wouldn’t allow it.”
Al-Qadiri no longer knew where they were.
“There’s no network, no electricity,” she said. “I’m praying to God that they will be in the next batch (of evacuees).”
Minerva Sabah, who is married to a Palestinian academic, also returned to the Philippines alone.
Her husband was not approved to leave, she told Arab News, not knowing when she would be able to see him again and whether they would have anything to get back to.
“I’m not sure if my house will still be standing there when we return,” she said.
Authorities in Gaza estimate that more than 50 percent of all residential units in the besieged enclave have been damaged or rendered uninhabitable.
More than 10,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7.
“No one is safe there. We had no electricity, no food, and everything is closed,” Isabelita Balala, another evacuee who was working in Gaza, told Arab News.
“We’d just tremble whenever there were explosions. Whenever they bombed, it was really intense. Gaza is gone, they pulverized it.”