MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has joined other regional leaders in voicing concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and rising tensions in the Middle East, calling for peace talks to resolve the conflict.

Speaking at the 19th East Asia Summit in Laos, Marcos urged all parties to de-escalate violence and pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which has killed thousands.

"The Philippines is gravely concerned over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the increasing tensions in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon," he said. 

Marcos also reiterated the Philippines' support for a two-state solution where Israel and Palestine can peacefully coexist.

He also called on the summit's participating countries to recommit to an open and rules-based regional architecture to address shared challenges.

ASEAN position. While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has and remains unlikely to arrive at a consensus on the Gaza conflict, it has issued statements before that call on all parties to cease their attacks, which indiscriminately kill and displace scores of civilians.

In July, top diplomats of Southeast Asian countries condemned Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, which have killed over 39,000 Palestinians since October.

In a joint communiqué issued at their summit in Vientiane, Laos, ASEAN foreign ministers expressed "grave concern" over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the blockaded area.

"We condemned all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, which have resulted in an alarming number of casualties, particularly women and children, and restricted access to food, water, and basic needs, worsening the humanitarian situation in Gaza," the statement said.

"We called for rapid, safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to all those in need, including through increased capacity at border crossings, including by sea," it added.

Repatriation. At least 11,000 Filipinos are in Lebanon, nearly 600 of whom are either ready for or in the process of repatriation.

The Philippine government is set to bring home 192 OFWs from Lebanon from October 11 to October 28 — the first batch of Filipino nationals to exit the country after Israel kicked off its ground operations there.

At least 11 will arrive this weekend, according to the Department of Migrant Workers.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has had Alert Level 3 hoisted upon Lebanon since last year, which calls for the voluntary repatriation of Filipinos. 

It will only raise Alert Level 4, the highest in the tier system, if a "full war situation" breaks out in the Middle Eastern country. 

Under this alert level, the Philippines will impose a mandatory repatriation of Filipinos and a total deployment ban.

Israel announced in September that it was shifting its focus from the Gaza Stripbarkadabet, where it has been at war with Hamas since the October 7 attack, to its northern border with Lebanon.

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