Filipinos hurt amid Israel-Iran conflict now 7; five already discharged —DFA
"May pito na throughout the past several days, nadala sa ospital. Sa pito na iyon, lima na na-discharged na. Pero may dalawa na nasa ospital pa. 'Yung isa kasi binagsakan ng bubong noong tinamaan ng missile," De Vega said in an interview on Dobol B TV.
(There have been seven throughout the past several days that were taken to the hospital. Of those seven, five have been discharged. But there are two still in the hospital. The roof fell on one of them when it was hit by a missile.)
De Vega reported that the one previously reported as critical had already undergone surgery.
Further, the number of Filipinos losing their homes is increasing.
"Ang maganda diyan, hindi nadadagdagan [ang injuries]. Ang nadagdagan, 'yung number ng Filipinos na kailangan i-shelter na, nawawalan ng bahay, mga 67 na, dati 49."
(The good thing about that is that [the injuries] are not rising. What has increased is the number of Filipinos who need shelter, who are losing their homes, now about 67, previously 49.)
A drone photo shows the damage over residential homes at the impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 16, 2025. REUTERS/ Moshe Mizrahi
Repatriation
He said more Filipinos have expressed their intent to return to the Philippines following the war between the two countries.
"One hundred seventy eight (178) and rising," he said, adding that the first batch of 26 Filipinos are expected to come home this weekend.
Filipinos could exit Israel by crossing its border into Jordan since flight operations are currently suspended.
However, De Vega said some overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remain hesitant to go back to the Philippines and asked for assurance that they could still return to Israel after the tensions.
"Ang problema po, kakaunti lang talaga ang gustong umuwi dahil ang number one tinatanong nila, 'Kung uuwi kami, makakabalik ba kami?' Hindi namin maga-guarantee 'yan, kasi kailan matatapos ang gulo?"
(The problem is, very few OFWs want to go home because the number one question they ask is, 'If we go home, will we be able to come back?' We cannot guarantee that, because we do not know when the conflict will end.)
Iran and Israel exchanged fresh attacks early Saturday, a day after Tehran said it would not negotiate over its nuclear program while under threat and Europe tried to keep peace talks alive, Reuters reported. —KG, GMA Integrated News
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