The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has announced that 213 Filipinos in Lebanon have completed travel preparations and are ready to return to the Philippines. This comes amid ongoing hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac confirmed that around 20 Filipinos are expected to arrive back in the Philippines this weekend.
Currently, 178 Filipinos are staying in shelters in Lebanon. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated that the Philippines is maintaining Alert Level 3 in Lebanon, allowing voluntary repatriation but stopping short of mandatory evacuation. Decisions on any change to Alert Level 4 will depend on assessments from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy.
In the conflict, Israeli airstrikes have reportedly resulted in over 2,100 deaths in Lebanon over the past year, while Hezbollah attacks have led to 53 deaths in Israel, over half of them civilians.