MANILA, Philippines – Another Filipino worker, a 49-year-old woman, was confirmed to be among those killed when Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.

Play Video

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega confirmed the news in a press briefing on Friday, October 13, saying that the information had just reached Philippine authorities, after the DNA test was completed.

“I regret to inform you that yes, it is confirmed, there is a third Filipino casualty,” said De Vega. The DFA declined to make public her identity.

The DFA official initially identified her as another caregiver, like the two other Filipinos whose deaths were earlier confirmed, but De Vega later clarified that he was unsure about her employment.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had been informed about the latest confirmed death of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Israel but has yet to speak to the victim’s family.

De Vega said the woman hailed from Negros Occidental and was at the music festival held near the Gaza-Israel border, which was attacked by Hamas militants on October 7.

The DFA earlier confirmed the death of two Filipinos in Israel – two caregivers who also died on October 7. The third casualty had been flagged pending DNA verification.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the bodies of those who were killed were mutilated or burned so that’s why it’s taking time,” said De Vega, explaining the delay in the Philippines’ confirmation of its citizens’ killings.

De Vega said the Philippines is already in contact with the Filipina’s Kuwait-based sisters on the repatriation of her remains.

Three more Filipinos remain missing, even as Israel has said that it had regained control over the southernmost cities that were attacked by Hamas.

Israel’s military on Friday called for all civilians of Gaza City to relocate south within 24 hours, as it amassed tanks near the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion.

The Philippines has placed the Palestinian territory Gaza under Alert Level 3, meaning repatriation remains optional. Some 70 individuals have told the Philippine embassy in Amman that they want to fly to the Philippines, but the problem is how they’d be able to get out. – Rappler.com