December 7, 2024 | 12:00am
JERUSALEM — Following what officials described as a “dramatic” decrease in threat levels, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has appealed to foreign governments to consider “fine-tuning” their travel restrictions to the country.
“I am not saying (that they) immediately delete from scratch all the travel warnings. But we are appealing… to all of our friends to at least fine-tune the travel warnings,” Aviv Ezra, MFA’s deputy director general for Asia and the Pacific, told journalists at a media briefing here earlier this week.
“I can prove it to all these countries that the level of threat has decreased dramatically… The threat coming from the Gaza Strip is eliminated almost to zero. The threat coming from the north is also diminished in a dramatic manner,” he added.
Ezra said he understands countries that had to impose travel restrictions to Israel following Oct. 7, 2023, when militant group Hamas launched a coordinated attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel.
Over 1,000 were killed in the attack, including four Filipinos, with hundreds taken hostage. It prompted Israel to launch an offensive into Gaza, a response that is drawing criticism worldwide as the number of civilian casualties continues to rise.
In the north, where Israel shares a border with Lebanon, militant group Hezbollah also intensified its attacks into Israel, prompting further escalation of the decades-long conflict.
A 60-day ceasefire was recently agreed upon by Israel and Hezbollah, although there had been reports of violations from both sides.
Following the escalation of conflict in the region, the Philippine government placed Israel under Alert Level 2, restricting non-essential travel and barring the deployment of new overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) into the country.
“Non-essential travels include tourism visits, pilgrimages, temporary stays with relatives and friends, volunteer work, sports events, entertainment and similar activities. These are discouraged now and could be considered at a later date,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in an advisory in May.
“There is no new deployment of OFWs to Israel. Therefore, please be careful of offers by individuals, organizations, employers or tour companies organizing tour packages, visits and pilgrimages to, or recruiters promising employment in, restive countries in the Middle East region,” it added.
Ezra expressed optimism that 2025 will bring Israel “back to business,” adding that their government is making sure that foreign workers are safe.
“We were always concerned about their safety, and we have built certain mechanisms to make sure that their safety will endure even in the times when there are challenges,” he said.
“We have defined certain areas where foreign employees cannot go, certainly in the northern front,” he said, referring to areas affected by the conflict with Hezbollah.
Despite the improved situation, he admitted that threats remain: “It’s not black and white, we are in the gray area, but the trend is positive.”
“From time to time, there is a missile that is being shot. But in terms of probability, if you walk in Manila at night, you can be attacked by a criminal in the same probability,” he said in response to a question by The STAR.
Missile attacks, he noted, are often intercepted by their defense systems and hardly cause any damage, especially in population centers outside the conflict areas.
“Because of the arrangements, the level of threat has diminished dramatically, drastically,” the Israeli foreign ministry official added.
There is an estimated 30,000 Filipinos in Israel, with only a handful requesting repatriation since the conflict flared in the region in 2023.
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