Filipina worker wounded in airstrikes vs Israel ‘critical’

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipina caregiver remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in Israel, while another is being treated for serious injuries amid Iran’s continuing retaliatory airstrikes, officials said on Monday.

The Philippine Embassy in Israel said the caregiver, who has not been identified, is confined at Shamir Medical Center after sustaining severe injuries to her chest which affected her heart and lungs.

According to the embassy, her doctors and nurses say they are doing everything they can, “but her condition remains life-threatening.”

READ: Israel pounds Iran from west to east, Tehran hits back with missiles

“We are doing everything within our means to reach and assist our nationals affected by this crisis. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families, especially our kababayan (compatriot) who is now fighting for her life. We ask the Filipino community to join us in praying for her survival and healing,” Philippine Ambassador to Israel Aileen Mendiola said in a statement.

Discharged patients

At least four Filipinos were hospitalized over the weekend for lighter injuries and two of them have since been discharged, Administrator Patricia Caunan of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) said at a press briefing on Monday together with Secretary Hans Cacdac of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

The number of injured Filipinos increased to eight as of Monday afternoon, Mendiola said in an interview with dzMM.

Among the discharged patients are a 43-year-old woman who underwent emergency surgery and a 44-year-old man who sustained injuries to his arm and leg. Both were treated at Kaplan Medical Center in the city of Rehovot.

Cacdac said the DMW, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy, assisted 14 Filipinos in Rehovot, which is about 20 kilometers from Tel Aviv, after a building and its surrounding areas were hit by an Iranian missile.

Of that group, eight are staying in temporary shelters, five are with their employers, and one is staying with a friend.

The government, Cacdac said, is monitoring areas directly impacted by the missile attacks, including the cities of Rehovot and Bat Yam outside Tel Aviv.

“Two individuals in the Bat Yam area are also being provided with appropriate assistance—financial aid, basic needs assistance, shelter support, and transportation assistance on the ground. We have an MWO (Migrant Workers Office), labor attaché, and Owwa welfare officer on hand. It’s all hands on deck for us,” he said.

Returning OFWs

Cacdac and Caunan also assisted the arrival on Monday of 18 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were supposed to leave for Israel and Jordan last week but were stranded in Dubai for 48 hours following the conflict triggered by Israel’s airstrike on Jan. 13.

“We gave them financial assistance of P50,000. This is good for one to two months’ salary because, obviously, their work has been disrupted for now,” Cacdac said.

He emphasized that “this isn’t the so-called ayuda (aid), but rather safety nets because they lost—or will temporarily lose—their work, and we need to provide the resources to help them get through this until they can resume their jobs.”

Owwa said it was helping the OFWs return to their provinces while providing them for the time being with accommodations in Metro Manila.

When asked about the possibility of evacuating about 30,000 Filipinos in Israel, Cacdac said, “We look toward our colleagues at the DFA to raise the alert level. But, of course, we always stand ready for any eventuality, including mass repatriation.” /cb

(2025/06/17-05:45)