Photo courtesy: Council on Foreign Relations
Haifa, Israel – A Filipino woman was tragically killed alongside her Israeli husband when an Iranian missile struck a building in Haifa, northwestern Israel, on Sunday, April 5.
This incident marks the second Filipino national to lose their life since the United States and Israel initiated retaliatory strikes against Iran approximately five weeks ago. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed the fatality on Tuesday, April 7, withholding the victim’s name out of respect for her family’s privacy during this period of immense grief.
The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv is actively coordinating the repatriation of the deceased’s remains. However, the DFA acknowledged that the ongoing volatile travel situation in the region, including intermittent closures of Israeli airspace since the conflict escalated, may present challenges to this process. The tragic loss of this Filipino national underscores the severe risks faced by foreign nationals residing in Israel amidst the escalating regional tensions and the ongoing exchange of hostilities.
This incident follows the death of Mary Ann Velazquez de Vera, a 32-year-old caregiver from Pangasinan. She was killed by shrapnel on February 28 while assisting her elderly ward to a bomb shelter during an Iranian missile strike on Tel Aviv. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had personally confirmed De Vera’s death, identifying her as a victim of the retaliatory actions taken by Iran following US and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory.
These airstrikes, which occurred on February 28, targeted sites across Iran, reportedly resulting in the deaths of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and numerous high-ranking officials, with stated objectives of dismantling Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and facilitating regime change.
The Filipino community in Israel, estimated at 30,000 nationals as of November 2025, is part of a larger diaspora of over a million Filipino workers across the Middle East. The expanding war zone now catches many of these individuals, exposing them to heightened risks from the escalating geopolitical conflict. The DFA continues to monitor the situation closely and provide assistance to its citizens in the affected region.
