Filipina dies in missile strike on Israel

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday, April 7, that a Filipina was among the four killed after a missile strike hit a residential building in Haifa, Israel Saturday evening, April 5.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs expresses deep sorrow over the death of a Filipina national who was killed in a missile attack on a residence in Haifa, Israel on the evening of 05 April 2026. She died alongside her Israeli husband and elderly parents-in-law,” said the DFA in a statement.

The DFA said its post in Tel Aviv has informed her family and will be providing assistance, including the “earliest possible repatriation of her remains despite the current travel situation in the region.”

The DFA did not disclose the identity of the Filipina but asked for privacy on behalf of her family.

“We join the Filipino community in praying for her eternal rest and for strength for her family during this time of profound loss,” added the DFA.

Four people were killed in the Israeli port city of Haifa after what Israeli media said was an Iranian missile strike that hit a residential building late on Sunday. The bodies of the four were recovered from beneath the rubble following hours of intensive search-and-rescue operations, the Israeli military said on Monday, April 6.

Her passing comes as the war in the Gulf, triggered by the United States and Israel’s strikes on Iran, broke out.

According to Al Jazeera’s tracking, the war has claimed the lives of over 1,937 people in Iran, 1,461 in Lebanon, 24 in Israel, 13 American soldiers, and 27 across the different Gulf states. Over 26,500 have been reported injured in Iran, 6,951 in Israel, and 4,430 in Lebanon.

A Filipina caregiver, Mary Anne Velazquez de Vera, was the first confirmed Filipino death as a result of the latest escalation of hostilities in the Gulf. De Vera died while trying to help her patient reach a bomb shelter in Israel.

Arab nations are home to over two million Filipinos, most of them Overseas Filipino Workers.

The Philippines’ response to hostilities in the Gulf factors in the repatriation of thousands who wish to be repatriated, on top of social services for migrant workers whose jobs are affected by the war.

Manila is among those worst affected by the oil crisis as a result of the war. Iran has controlled and restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway where much of oil intended for Asia passes through. – with reports from Reuters/Rappler.com