From Terror Tunnels to Typhoon: Former Hostage Itay Regev Trapped Again as Cyclone Hits Reality Show Set

Filming of the new season of the Israeli docu-reality program "Goalstar" has been abruptly halted in the Philippines, as a massive typhoon bears down on the island nation. Production staff and cast members, currently located in the Asian country, have been ordered to "lock themselves in their rooms" amid reports of severe weather, power outages, and even a "Tsunami alert" in their area.

The 13th season of the show, which marks the first without veteran football coach Shai Feigenbaum, began filming roughly two weeks ago with a celebrity cast that includes reality star Erez Isakov, former hostage Itay Regev, singer Eliav Zohar, Liam Golan, Raz Zahavi, rapper Ron Nesher, Nir Beniloush, Tomer Talias, Liron Ophir, Yaron Berlad, Haim "Hamimo" Shuayi, and footballer Lior Berkovic. The team is coached by Giovanni Rosso and Itay Shechter.

A source close to the production told Mako today, "There's chaos and it's frightening here. The participants and the crew were ordered to lock themselves in their rooms."

Filming Complete, Travel in Doubt

Although the season’s filming is almost entirely complete, with only a final day of "test shots" (on-camera interviews) remaining, that day has been cancelled due to power failures across the Philippines. The planned flight for the program's cameramen scheduled for today has been cancelled, and the return flight for the celebrity participants, planned for tomorrow, is now highly doubtful.

Lior Berkovic, a former football player and son of veteran player and commentator Eyal Berkovic, has been actively posting updates on his X account, noting that the "pressure is starting to build" and jokingly asking someone to inform his parents about the "crazy typhoon" since he doubts they care.

The production team is situated in the Zambales province in the central-western part of the country. This location is on the opposite side of the initial typhoon strike zone, yet video clips shared by cast members show strong winds causing damage at the production site, prompting the confinement order. The same source reported a "Tsunami alert" in their vicinity.

Nationwide Emergency

The approaching typhoon is expected to make landfall in the Aurora province on Tuesday evening. In anticipation, over a million people have already been evacuated from central and southeastern areas, including the Catanduanes and Camarines Sur provinces, which are under a Level 5 alert - the highest warning level in the Philippines. Manila and surrounding provinces are under a Level 3 alert.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro publicly urged residents to obey evacuation orders, warning that those who remain behind risk the lives of both themselves and rescue teams. "We ask that people evacuate in advance so that we do not have to carry out last-minute rescues, which could endanger the lives of police officers, soldiers, firefighters, and coast guard personnel," he stated in a public address.

The dramatic situation unfolds just two days before the season’s planned finale filming, which is set to take place at Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa on Tuesday. The stars, who have been away from Israel for two weeks, are now in the midst of a real-life emergency, their return home uncertain as the storm rages around them.