Bineberipika ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) ang mga ulat na dalawang Pilipino ay kabilang sa mga hostage na hawak ng militant group na Hamas.
“Not 100 percent verified but we are assuming that they are, as there is no sign of them in Israel. We are talking to various governments to seek their assistance,” ayon kay DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.
Ayon sa ulat ng Reuters, mahigit sa kalahati ng 220 hostages na hawak ng Hamas ay mga foreign passports holders mula sa 25 bansa, kabilang ang Pilipinas.
“Israel believes that one of them, a male, is likely a hostage. They haven’t shown us the evidence. The wife of the supposed hostage has said from the beginning that she saw her husband taken on video,” ani ni de Vega.
“That’s not ideal, but then again you notice that the numbers four and two have been maintained, so we can look at it as some sort of positive development that the numbers are not rising,” dagdag pa niya.