MANILA, April 17 -- The Philippine government has kept Israel under alert level 2, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday and advised Filipinos to postpone non-essential travel to the country.

Alert level 2 was first raised in October 2023, restricting the deployment of Filipinos in Israel. It is issued when there are real threats to life, security, and property of Filipinos arising from internal disturbance or external threats to the host country.

"The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv continues to recommend that all non-essential travel from the Philippines to Israel be postponed indefinitely, or until such time that the situation has stabilized," the DFA said.

"If travel to Israel is absolutely necessary, Filipinos are ...