Marcos meets OFWs from Israel

ESCAPE FROM HAMAS Overseas Filipino workers Gelienor Pacheco (fifth from left) and Camille Jesalva (right) pose with President Marcos at Malacañang. —PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK OF BONGBONG MARCOS

President Marcos met on Friday with two Filipino overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who had just recently returned to the country after harrowing experiences during the Hamas attack on the civilian settlements where they cared for elderly Israelis.

Gelienor Pacheco, 33, and Camille Jesalva, 31, met with a casually dressed Chief Executive, who was wearing striped socks, and recounted their separate ordeals on Oct. 7.

Pacheco, who had been caring for octogenarian Amitai Ben Zvi who was later killed by Hamas, recounted to the President how he survived more than 40 days in captivity.

Along with other hostages from Kibbutz Nir Oz, Pacheco said they survived on water and dates as they were moved through several tunnels that were later found to have been built under hospitals and schools.

Jesalva, who was scheduled to fly back to the Philippines on Oct. 9 for a vacation, was luckier in nearby Kibbutz Nirim, where she was caring for a 95-year-old Israeli woman. Nirim is about seven kilometers from Khan Yunis, where the Hamas leadership had their headquarters until they were overrun by Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

During the attack, however, the terrorists wanted to take the elderly woman, Nitza Hefetz, as hostage, but Jesalva begged the attackers to have mercy on her ward and instead offered her savings of $370.

“Take everything, just don’t take the flight ticket. She’s an old woman and doesn’t understand what’s happening. Take the money and go,” she recounted to journalists after she and her ward were rescued by the IDF.

Israeli media reported that Jesalva hugged Hefetz on her bed for more than two hours to calm her down until the IDF arrived. Jesalva later canceled her flight after she promised not to leave Hefetz.

After hearing their stories, Mr. Marcos urged the two caregivers to document their experiences so that people will know about their ordeal.

READ: Former Hamas hostage gets P500,000 from Romualdez