BACOLOD City – Concerns are mounting over a Negrense overseas Filipino worker (OFW) believed to have been taken captive by Palestinian terror group Hamas.
Loreta Alacre, a resident of Barangay Cadiz Viejo, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, worked as a caregiver. She disappeared after an attack during a music festival in southern Israel on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Anabella Alacre, in a radio interview, mentioned her sister’s attendance at the Tribe of Nova music festival near Re’im kibbutz, a mere six kilometers away from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Reports from global news outlets cite that Hamas militants attacked the festival on Saturday, resulting in the death of around 260 people. Several attendees, including Loreta, are feared to have been abducted and taken to Gaza as hostages.
Rosalina Diamante, another Negrense OFW in Israel and a resident of Silay City, communicated with Loreta last on Friday, Oct. 6. Loreta mentioned plans of attending the event with her Chinese boyfriend.
Preliminary information suggests that the pair were ambushed by Hamas in their vehicle.
According to Diamante, Loreta was captured, while her boyfriend was shot but survived, later rescued by Israeli forces and hospitalized in Ashkelon City, Israel. Due to security concerns, Israeli officials have currently restricted access to the hospital.
The Alacre family, however, awaits solid evidence about Loreta’s alleged capture. They’re hopeful for an official update from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
In light of these events, the Negros Occidental provincial government has inaugurated a public assistance desk in the provincial capitol. This initiative aims to support families and friends of Negrense OFWs stationed in Israel or the Gaza Strip.
The DFA, as of Oct. 9, has received reports from another OFW family who identified their male relative in a video broadcasted by Hamas on social media. The circumstances surrounding the video remain unclear.
Reacting to Israel’s retaliatory air strikes on Gaza, Hamas warned of executing hostages, although it remains uncertain whether this threat extends to foreign nationals abducted during the weekend.
Yesterday, official communications from the DFA and the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines confirmed the tragic deaths of two Filipinos during the weekend’s attacks.
Statistics show over 30,000 Filipinos are living and working in Israel, with another 137 in the Gaza Strip.
The DFA confirms that, besides Loreta, five Filipinos are still missing, while 38 in Gaza have requested repatriation. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
