Manila Standard - 2023 October 9 - Monday

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AFGHAN QUAKES DEATH TOLL DOUBLES TO 2,053 WORLD / B2

VOL. XXXVII • NO. 237• 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Marcos: Locate all Filipinos in Israel Gov't forms task force as it verifies reports of Pinoys kidnapped during Hamas attack By Vince Lopez, Rey E. Requejo, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Israel warns of ‘long, difficult war’ vs. Hamas

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RESIDENT­ Marcos­has­ ordered­the­ Department­of­Migrant­ Workers­(DMW)­to­ locate­and­account­for­ all­Filipinos­in­Israel,­ where­attacks­by­the­ Palestinian­group­ Hamas­on­Saturday­ triggered­Israeli­ airstrikes­over­the­ Gaza­Strip.

JERUSALEM, Undefined­­—Israeli­ forces­ battled­ holdout­ Hamas­ fighters­ and­ pounded­ targets­ in­ the­ Gaza­ Strip­ on­Sunday­as­Prime­Minister­Benjamin­ Netanyahu­ warned­ of­ a­ "long­ and­ difficult"­war­ahead­after­the­Palestinian­ militants­ launched­ a­ massive­ surprise­ attack. The­ Hamas­ attack­ came­ half­ a­ century­ after­ the­ outbreak­ of­ the­ 1973­ Arab-Israeli­ war,­ stunning­ Israel­ and­ sparking­bitter­recriminations­inside­the­ country­on­what­was­widely­seen­as­an­ enormous­intelligence­failure. Gun­ fights­ raged­ in­ towns­ and­ on­ highways­as­the­Israeli­army­deployed­ tens­of­thousands­of­forces­to­secure­ southern­ desert­ regions­ near­ the­ coastal­enclave,­aiming­to­rescue­Israeli­ Next page

Four previous Israel-Gaza wars in past 15 years ISRAEL­ has­ already­ fought­ four­ wars­ with­ Palestinian­ militants­ in­ the­ Gaza­Strip­since­its­forces­and­settlers­ withdrew­ from­ the­ coastal­ territory­ in­ 2005­—in­2008,­2012,­2014­and­2021. Here­are­the­key­flare-ups: 2008: 'Cast Lead' On­ December­ 27,­ 2008,­ Israel­ launched­ a­ campaign­ of­ air­ strikes­ against­ militants­ in­ Gaza, Gaza,­ dubbed­ Operation­ Cast Cast­ Lead,­ to­ stop­ Palestinian­ rocket­fire­into­Israel. It­later­also­deployed­ ground­forces. Next page

FIRE IN THE SKY. A ball of fire and smoke rises above a building in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike over the weekend while (inset, upper left) a salvo of rockets is seen fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City toward Israel. The weekend attacks marked the bloodiest escalation in the wider conflict between both sides since May 2021. AFP

Hamas­launched­a­massive­surprise­attack­at­daybreak­Saturday,­ firing­ thousands­ of­ rockets­ into­ Israel­while­its­fighters­entered­Israeli­ communities­ near­ the­ Gaza­ Strip,­ killing­ residents­ and­ taking­ hostages.­The­attacks­prompted­Israeli­Prime­Minister­Benjamin­Netanyahu­to­declare­war­on­Hamas,­ ordering­airstrikes­that­killed­hundreds­in­the­Gaza­Strip,­a­Palestinian­enclave. "The­government­is­closely­coordinating­with­the­Philippine­Embassy­in­Tel­Aviv­and­the­Migrant­ Workers­ Office­ (MWO)­ in­ Israel­ to­ensure­the­safety­and­welfare­of­ Filipinos­ affected­ in­ the­ ongoing­ conflict,"­ Presidential­ Communications­ Secretary­ Cheloy­ Velicaria-Garafil­said. "The­ DMW­ has­ opened­ a­ hotline­ and­ several­ Viber­ and­ WhatsApp­hotline­numbers­that­ will­ accept­ calls­ and­ queries­ from­our­OFWs­and­the­Filipino­community­who­are­in­need­ of­government­assistance,"­Garafil­added. The­ Palace­ also­ said­ that­ the­ order­from­President­Marcos­also­ covers­ workers'­ families­ affected­ Next page by­the­war.

‘Foreign aircraft Use excess RCEF collections expected in WPS to help rice farmers—Marcos resupply missions’ By Vince Lopez By Vince Lopez

happen.­This­is­why­we­are­pushing­to­ end­fossil­fuels,­and­more­importantly,­ demanding­ reparations­ from­ polluter­ countries.­ We­ need­ resources­ to­ fast­ track­our­climate­action­efforts­before­

THE­Armed­Forces­of­the­Philippines­ on­Saturday­said­the­continued­presence­ of­foreign­aircraft­could­be­expected­in­ future­ resupply­ missions­ in­ the­ West­ Philippine­Sea. "We­ can­ expect­ that­ because­ I­ think­ that­ is­ also­ important,"­ AFP­ spokesperson­ Col.­ Medel­Aguilar­ said­ in­a­television­interview. A­foreign­aircraft­from­an­unknown­ country­ was­ spotted­ monitoring­ the­ Ayungin­ Shoal­ during­ the­ resupply­ mission­ of­ the­ military­ and­ the­ Philippine­ Coast­ Guard­ (PCG)­ Wednesday­last­week. “What­ they­ are­ providing­ us­ is­ a­ view­ from­ above­ so­ that,­ as­ I’ve­ said,­ we­will­know­what­is­happening­on­the­ ground.­ That­ is­ very­ important­ in­ the­ formulation­of­strategies,­campaigns,­or­ operational­plans­that­will­be­effective­

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RELIGIOUS FERVOR. Devotees rejoice as the image of the La Naval leaves the Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City for a procession on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. Danny Pata

30-day ‘walk for climate justice’ begins FORTY­ climate­ advocates­ set­ out­ on­ a­ 30-day­ walk­ from­ Rizal­ Park­ in­ Manila­ to­ Tacloban­ City,­ Leyte,­ to­ commemorate­ the­ 10th­ anniversary­ of­ Typhoon­Yolanda­(Haiyan)­on­Sunday. “We­don’t­want­another­Yolanda­to­

rice­farmers. The­President,­in­a­meeting­with­Agand Julito G. Rada riculture­ officials­ recently,­ said­ that­ the­ excess­collections­beyond­the­P10­billion­ PRESIDENT­ Marcos­ has­ ordered­ the­ requirement­of­the­RCEF­should­be­used­ Department­of­Agriculture­to­use­the­ex- to­provide­rice­farmers­drying,­mechanicess­collections­of­the­Rice­Competitive- zation,­and­other­equipment­to­ ness­Enhancement­Fund­(RCEF)­to­help­ Next page

FARE HIKE TAKES EFFECT.

A jeepney conductor holds a signage showing the new minimum fare effective Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, after the government approved a P1 hike following a series of oil price increases. Manny Palmero