When air raid sirens sounded across Israel, Mary Ann de Vera received the same instruction given to millions of residents and foreign workers: run for shelter.
The Filipina caregiver did not leave.
Inside the apartment where she worked, an elderly woman needed assistance moving to safety. As missiles launched from Iran streaked toward Israeli cities, Mary Ann stayed behind to help the person under her care.
Moments later, a missile struck the building.
Her death became one of the first Filipino casualties in a rapidly escalating conflict that began when the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran in late February.
Israeli and Philippine authorities are now coordinating the return of Mary Ann’s body to the Philippines.
Israel Ambassador Dana Kursh said efforts are underway to ensure her remains are brought home to her family in Pangasinan.
“We will do everything in our power that the remains of the beloved Mary Ann will be brought back,” Kursh told Daily Tribune in an exclusive interview. “And will be reunited with the family here in Pangasinan.”
Kursh said Israeli authorities are working closely with Philippine diplomats and agencies responsible for overseas Filipino workers.
Under Israeli law, Mary Ann will be treated as a victim of terrorism, entitling her family to compensation similar to that provided to Israeli citizens killed in attacks.
“In Israel, whenever a terror attack or a war attack happens to an Israeli civilian, any foreigner that has been inflicted by it will be entitled to the same compensation and benefits as an Israeli,” Kursh said.
Still, the ambassador acknowledged that no assistance can replace the loss of life.
“There are no words to omit the pain,” she said. “You cannot grasp losing a child.”
Kursh stressed that the military action was not solely an Israeli initiative but part of a coordinated operation with the United States.
“The Iranian threat has been identified by the United States for many years,” she said.
She described the strike as part of broader strategic coordination between Israeli and American officials.
“The United States of America is a leader in the globe that sees its responsibility to make sure that we have a better world for our children,” Kursh said.
“If the United States of America with all its might identified this threat as a global threat,” she added, “then we have to deal with it together.”
Within hours of the attack, Iran launched ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel and several U.S. military bases across the Middle East.
Israel’s missile defense systems, including the Iron Dome, intercepted many incoming projectiles.
Some still reached their targets.
One missile struck the city of Beit Shemesh, killing nine Israeli civilians. Four of the victims were children, including three siblings from the same family.
“Out of them four children, three children from the same family—thirteen, fourteen and sixteen,” Kursh said.
Elsewhere, the conflict has produced competing narratives about civilian casualties.
Iranian reports claimed a missile strike hit a school and killed children, drawing international concern.
Israeli officials questioned those reports.
“The Iranian regime is very, very good also in fake news,” Kursh said.
She insisted Israeli operations were focused on Iranian leadership and military infrastructure rather than civilians.
“Our war is not with the Iranian people,” she said.
Kursh said the operation targeted the leadership structure of the Iranian regime.
“In the first 40 minutes of this operation,” she said, “the leadership of the Iranian regime led by Khamenei was killed.”
She suggested that removing what she described as the regime’s leadership could open the door to political change within Iran.
“We hope and pray that the Iranian people will rise and will be able to pick the right leader for Iran,” she said.
Kursh acknowledged that discussions about succession in Iran had circulated even before the conflict.
“Among the leaders that Khamenei was thinking of is his own son and others,” she noted.
Still, she conceded that the outcome remains uncertain.
“There is always a risk,” Kursh said. “The next leader can be even much worse.”