Filipino migrants under Bayan-USA, Migrante Middle East, and Commission 15 of the International League of People’s Struggles condemned the series of terrorist attacks by Zionist Israel and imperialist US against the people in various countries in the Middle East.

“We condemn the recent intensified terrorist attacks on the Arab people in the region, while their genocide against the Palestinian people continues unabated,” according to the groups’ unified statement issued last September 28.

In September, Zionist Israel has carried out relentless bombing and aggression in Lebanon. From September 17-18, it consecutively detonated pagers and walkie-talkies held by Hezbollah “operatives.” From September 20 to 27, it rained bombs and missiles on residential areas under the guise of pursuing Hezbollah leaders.

The worst incident was from September 25-26, where Zionists conducted 650 airstrikes that killed over 500 civilians, injured thousands, and displaced more than 100,000 from their homes. On September 27, six residential buildings were flattened by Israeli bombs aimed at killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Preliminary estimates indicate that Israel killed 700 just on this day.

Reports indicate that one million Lebanese from southern Lebanon fled their homes in search of safer shelter from Israeli bombings.

“In response to Israel’s brutality, resistance movements in the region have supported the Palestinian cause,” according to the statement. Israel is now using this as a pretext for unbridled attacks against other countries. “This shows how bankrupt and rotten the state of Israel is,” they said. The groups labeled the Zionist state as “bloodthirsty.”

Filipino migrants’ organizations firmly stand in solidarity with the Lebanese, Palestinian, and all Arab peoples against US and Israeli terrorism. “We also know that any aggression from US imperialism and Israeli war criminals places the Filipino masses in danger, as millions of Filipino migrants work in Palestine, Lebanon, and across the whole Middle East region because of the Philippine government’s systematic labor export program.”

They stated that their best defense against such attacks is to link arms with their Arab siblings to build an anti-fascist united front against a common enemy.

“We call for peace based on justice in the Middle East – and that justice means a free Palestine, a free Lebanon, a free Yemen, and freedom for all Arab peoples under the yolk of U.S. imperialism and its zionist project,” they said.

Meanwhile, OFWs, Migrante International, and Migrante Middle East are calling on the Marcos regime to expedite its response to calls for repatriation of Filipinos working in Lebanon. They face various problems including securing clearance from their employers and strict processes from Lebanese institutions.

The group urges the Marcos government to take action. “Why can the government send a plane back in 2006 to return OFWs home but not now?” asked an OFW in Lebanon who still has not secured a flight home. This OFW and her family live near Beirut in a community that was targeted by extensive bombing by Zionist Israel last week.