The Philippine government expressed belief that the two missing Filipinos in Israel could have been taken hostage by Hamas during their attack in Israel last October 7.

"Our position in the government is that we are expecting that they are still alive, hiding but we are treating it, we consider them as hostages. In other words, all indications could be that they are held hostage. So we are expecting that they will be released," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said in a radio interview.

On the other hand, De Vega confirmed that one of the four Filipinos who died due to the attack in Israel will be repatriated ''in the next few days.''

"One of them will be home in the next few days. Two of them were cremated and they are already with their family members in Israel. We do not yet know when we can repatriate another Filipino whose remains are still in the morgue... We are praying that the number of fatalities will not increase anymore," he said.

De Vega said according to the Egyptian Ambassador to the Philippines Ahmed Shehabeldin Ibrahim their government will prioritize the entry of Filipinos to their country once the Rafah border crossing was already open.

"We thanked the Egyptian Ambassador (to the Philippines) Ahmed Shehabeldin. He said that he already told their government that when foreigners arrive at the gate (border of Gaza and Egypt), to give priority (to Filipinos) or don't give them problems, or to fast track the process," he said.

De Vega said out of the around 135 Filipinos in Gaza, approximately 78 to 80 are expected to cross the border for repatriation. Robina Asido/DMS