DFA confirms third Filipino casualty in Israel-Hamas war

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officially confirmed another Filipino casualty in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

The DFA reported that the casualty is a 49-year-old caregiver from Negros Occidental.

“We join the nation in extending our deepest sympathies to the lastest casualty,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said in a press briefing. 

There are still three other missing Filipinos, but the DFA is optimistic that they will be found. 

“It doesn’t mean that there is no hope, because as we said before there was a lot missing a week ago. Then paunti nang paunti.. Possibly, these three will show up,” De Vega said.

(It doesn’t mean that there is no hope, because as we said before there was a lot missing a week ago. Over time, several of them have been located, and there's a chance that these three individuals might also be found).

The DFA is pushing for a humanitarian corridor between Gaza and Egypt due to the ongoing blockade on the Israel-Gaza border. Of the 131 Filipinos in Gaza, 92 wish to return home.

“Not one has been repatriated yet because of the fact that Gaza is under a blockade, but we are working on it,” De Vega said.

The initial Filipino casualties in the ongoing conflict were recorded on October 11, and one of them was a Filipina nurse stationed at Kibbutz Kfar in Gaza.