Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega
MANILA – The Philippine government confirmed on Friday that a third Filipino has been killed following the brutal Hamas attack on south Israel last Saturday.
In a Palace briefing, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega identified the victim as a 49-year-old Filipino woman from Negros Occidental who was working as a caregiver in Israel.
De Vega said she died in the area of the kibbutz but the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv cannot ascertain yet if she was based in southern Israel.
He added that she might be attending the music festival in southern Israel when she was killed.
“We understand she was one of the attendees and a lot of people died there,” he said.
“I can’t confirm if she was a caregiver from the south but that she was there attending a music festival which was subject to an attack by the Hamas,” he added.
The confirmation came after the embassy received a notification of positive identification of the deceased.
The family and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., on the other hand, have already been informed.
The Philippine Embassy in Israel is also in touch with the victim’s kin in Kuwait for the repatriation of the remains.
“We join the nation in extending our deepest sympathies to the relatives of the latest casualty who was also a caregiver,” de Vega said.
The latest fatality brings to three the confirmed Filipino deaths days after the Hamas militants mounted a surprise assault against Israel on Saturday.
Three are still missing, including the Filipino male in one of the videos circulating on social media showing a man being held by gunmen.
Repatriation
In the same presser, de Vega said some 22 Filipinos in Israel have requested for repatriation but mostly due to “economic reasons”.
“As for our kababayans in Israel, there are already some who have indicated that they want to go home – not because they were victimized by the war specifically but because indirectly, they lost a job or times are hard for them — for economic reasons obviously aggravated by this conflict,” he said.
The first batch of eight will fly to Manila on Oct. 16 with their repatriation shouldered by the Department of Migrant Workers.
De Vega said the eight would be given assistance and undergo the usual reintegration programs provided by the government.
Alert Level 2 is currently in place in Israel while Alert Level 3 or voluntary repatriation has been raised in Gaza.
To date, there are 92 Filipinos who requested to be evacuated from Gaza.
'Barbaric assault on Israel'
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año on Friday said the government would push for the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization under Republic Act 11479 as a priority agenda of the Anti-Terrorism Council.
"Together with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., we hope for a swift resolution to this conflict, we pray for the safety of innocent civilians, and we offer our thanks to the Government of Israel for its efforts to protect our citizens,” Año said, as he condemned the attack that has so far killed over 1,200 persons and wounded over 3,000.
Año, a former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff, called the attack a “deadly and barbaric terrorist assault on Israel” as it targeted its civilian population.
He added that Israel has every right, as much as any nation, to defend and protect itself from the attack. (With Priam F. Nepomuceno/PNA)
