At least four Filipinos were injured or wounded in the recent retaliatory attack of Iran on Israel, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Sunday.
According to DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Eduardo de Vega, one of the four Filipinos may be currently in a critical condition.
“The Philippine Embassy in Israel said at least four Filipinos were injured and are at a hospital in Rehovot, Israel following Iran’s retaliatory air strikes,” De Vega told DAILY Tribune in a text message.
He added that another Filipina, whose residence in Ramat Gan was damaged by an Iranian missile, is currently being sheltered in a hotel along with her Israeli partner.
“The Embassy has sent teams to check up on their condition,” he said.
No repatriation request
De Vega also noted that the DFA has yet to receive repatriation request from overseas Filipino workers based in both of Israel and Iran despite the escalating tension in the region.
He, however, said that there were 60 OFWs in Israel who requested repatriation even before the attacks between the two countries started.
“There are no new requests for repatriation so far, certainly not from Iran. But there were already awaiting in the pipeline about 60 OFWs in Israel hoping to go home even before the current conflict with Iran. The Department of Migrant Workers is in charge of them,” he said.
Israel attacked Iran on Friday, effectively killing Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s missile program.
Iranian Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei has pledged a forceful response to Israel’s attack.
On Sunday, Israel pressed its intense bombardment campaign on Iran, striking a defense facility and fuel depots as the two arch foes kept up their most intense confrontation in history.
It came after Iranian missile fire on Israel killed at least 10 people overnight, according to authorities, pushing the toll up to 13 since Iran began its retaliatory strikes on Friday.
In Tehran, a heavy cloud of smoke billowed over the city after Israeli aircraft struck two fuel depots. For days, Iranians have formed long queues at petrol stations, fearing shortages.
Iranian media later said Israel attacked a facility affiliated with the defence ministry in the central city of Isfahan, reporting “possible damage.”
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Washington “had nothing to do” with ally Israel’s intense bombardment campaign that was launched early Friday, hitting key military and nuclear sites as well as residential areas.
But Trump threatened to launch “the full strength and might” of the US military if Iran attacks American interests, saying on his Truth Social platform that “we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!”
Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi nonetheless said that Tehran had “solid proof” that US forces and bases in the region had supported Israel in its attacks.
Israeli police said six people were killed and at least 180 injured at the site of an overnight missile strike in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.
First responders wearing helmets and headlamps combed through the bombed-out building as dawn broke, with police saying at least seven people were missing.