DOLE: No OFW hurt in Israel so far; no requests for repatriation

Smoke and flames rise from a tower building as it is destroyed by Israeli air strikes amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Gaza City May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

MANILA, Philippines — No overseas Filipino worker (OFW) has been reported hurt so far in Israel amid the worsening violence between Israel and Palestinian militants, a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) official said Friday.

DOLE International Labor Affairs Bureau Director Alice Visperas in a televised briefing added that there is also no request yet for repatriation.

“Wala pa naman po, awa ng Diyos, na nairereport na may OFW na nasaktan o humihingi na ng tulong para sila ay mapauwi mula po sa Israel,” Visperas said.

(Thank God, there is so far no report of an OFW getting hurt or have requested to be repatriated from Israel.)

“‘Yun pong members ng ating POLO [Philippine Overseas Labor Office] doon, ang ating overseas labor office ay ligtas rin naman po ang kanilang kalagayan,” she added.

(Members of our POLO there are also safe.)

Visperas said there are 19,000 documented OFWs and 6,000 undocumented OFWs in Israel.

The violence was triggered by the potential eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem as Israeli settlers sought court reprieve.

More than 100 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have so far been killed while seven people have been killed inside Israel over the past four days.

/MUF