OFWs share narrow escape from missile strike on Tel Aviv hotel
A missile launched from Iran is intercepted as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, June 21, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Amid the ongoing barrage of long-range ballistic missile attacks by Iran on Israel, several Filipino hotel workers in Tel Aviv shared their close call from harm.
Requesting they remain anonymous, the workers shared videos with GMA Integrated News showing the aftermath of some of the strikes after they emerged from a bomb bunker where they sought shelter. The footage reveals the extensive damage to the hotel where they worked.
Shattered glass and debris littered the lobby and other parts of the establishment. The elevator had collapsed and the quarters where the workers resided were destroyed.
In the video, the Overseas Filipino Workers could not help but feel emotional after seeing the destruction: 'Ayan na yung mga sunog oh….Tignan kwarto natin… Ayan, ay Jusko Lord… Hala yung kwarto ko, hala ate yung kwarto mo, hala jusko Lord yung kwarto ko, sa amin talaga!!' ('There's the fire… Look at our room… Oh my God, my room! Sis, your room! Oh Lord, it's really our room!')
They were also shocked to see the effects of the attack on their workplace:'First floor pa lang to..ay jusko Lord! Bumagsak yung elevator! Huh? Ayan oh, nabagsak!'
('This is just the first floor… Oh my God! The elevator collapsed! Look, it really fell!')
Impact
In an interview with GMA Integrated News, Michelle, one of the workers, shared her close brush with death. A resident of Tel Aviv for the past three years, she said while she's used to airstrikes, she said these latest attacks are far more intense: 'Nung time po na sumabog, nandun kami sa shelter. Narinig namin yung kalabog, nakita namin yung pagyanig ng dingding, ng kisame, yung alikabok. Lahat yun naranasan namin.'
('When the explosion happened, we were hiding in the shelter. We heard a loud bang, we felt the walls and ceiling shake, and the dust came down. We experienced all of it.')
Michelle added: 'Doon na kami talaga kinilabutan ng sobra, na kung hindi kami bumaba, wala na kami ngayon. History, kwento na lang.'
('That's when we were really terrified. If we had not gone down, we would not be here now. We would have been history. We'd just be a story.')
Even the staff of the Philippine Embassy in Israel felt the force of the blasts—something they had not experienced in years.
Ambassador Aileen Mendiola-Rau told GMA Integrated News: 'Yung iba-ibang banging sound, yung loud bangs, until such a point na meron mga, at least mga dalawa na malaking, malakas na malakas na loud bangs. Tapos, mararamdaman mo yung foundation ng embassy, yung Chancery Building, na medyo gumalaw, yung parang nag-vibrate. So, since June 13, ngayon lang namin naramdaman yung ganoon. Na may impact.'
('There were various banging sounds, very loud bangs, and then two extremely powerful ones. You could feel the embassy's foundation, the Chancery Building, shake and vibrate. Since June 13, this is the first time we've felt something like that. It had real impact.')
As of last night, Israel and Iran have officially been placed under Alert Level 3 due to over a week of retaliatory airstrikes. Under this alert level, Filipinos are strongly encouraged—but not yet required—to return home.
Despite the fear and trauma, many Filipino hotel workers told GMA Integrated News they are not yet ready to join the repatriation program.
Michelle explained: 'Ang reason ko kasi bakit ako agad siyempre nagsabi ko umuwi, siyempre, yung una yung takot ko. Pero nung nalaman ko na hindi pa pala ganun kabilis ang process din, kasi siyempre, kapag umuwi ka ng Pilipinas, makakatanggap ka ng halaga, sabihin na natin na P150,000, ilang weeks mo lang siya magagamit, mag-a-apply, sana ko kukuha ng source, saan ko kukuha ng panggastos ko? So yun yung mga reasons kung bakit hindi agad kami makauwi. Dahil hindi ganun kadali din kung mag-apply ka ulit sa ibang bansa.'
('My first instinct was to go home because I was scared. But then I realized the process isn't that fast. If I return to the Philippines, I might receive around P150,000, but that won't last long. I'll need to apply again—where will I get money in the meantime? That's why we can't just leave. It's not easy to start over in another country.')
Another worker, Ricasol, added: 'Syempre po susunod lahat kami doon yun nga lang, hinihiling talaga namin sa government natin na sana nga, kaming mawawala ng trabaho dito sa Israel if mandatory yung pagpapauwi sa amin is kami talaga yung ma-priority na mabigyan nila kasi apektado po talaga.'
('Of course, we'll obey if it becomes mandatory. But we're asking the government to prioritize those of us who will lose our jobs here in Israel. We're really affected.')
If the situation escalates to Alert Level 4, which would mean mandatory repatriation, OFWs have a clear request: 'Okay lang naman na umuwi kami ng Pilipinas at dumaan ng process. Pero yung i-sure na meron kaming employer na pwedeng ma-applyan agad sa Europe, okay yun. Mas panatag ang loob namin na umuwi kasi kumbaga ang paghihintay ng proseso ng paglipat ng bansa ng employer, eh hindi ganun katagal.'
('We're okay with going home and going through the process. But we hope there's an employer we can apply to right away in Europe. That would give us peace of mind, knowing we won't have to wait too long to work again.')
As of now, the Philippine Embassy in Israel reported that 191 Filipinos have requested repatriation. However, only 26 have confirmed and are currently being processed for land travel to Amman, Jordan.
There, they will be received by the Philippine Embassy and Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac, who is currently in the Middle East.
These 26 OFWs are now in shelters and are expected to leave Israel at any moment.
Meanwhile, one critically injured Filipino who underwent surgery remains in the intensive care unit and may need another operation once stable, according to the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Additionally, 88 Filipinos in Israel have lost their homes due to missile impacts and are currently staying in shelters being rented by the Philippine government. —RF, GMA Integrated News
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
36 minutes ago
- GMA Network
VP Sara Duterte to reply to Ombudsman ‘within required period'
Vice President Sara Duterte said that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will be submitting its response to the Ombudsman "within the required period," as her impeachment trial looms. The Ombudsman had directed Duterte to respond to the charges filed by the House of Representatives in connection with the alleged misuse of confidential funds. She was given 10 days to respond to the order, which was issued on June 19. In an interview during a support rally in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday, Duterte said that her team of lawyers informed her that an answer was being prepared for the Ombudsman. "As we speak, the lawyers are already preparing for the answer and the lawyers informed me that we will provide the answer within the period required within 10 days," she said. Duterte is also facing another deadline—she has until Monday, June 23, to respond to a summons from the Senate sitting as the impeachment court in her trial. The summons, served on June 11, also gave Duterte a "non-extendible" period of 10 days to respond to the articles of impeachment against her. Since the 10th day from the issuance, June 21, fell on a Saturday, Duterte will have until Monday to respond. Former associate justice Antonio Carpio has said that Duterte will lose her right to answer should she fail to submit her reply to the summons within the period. He stated that her lack of response will not stop the proceedings. During the interview, Duterte also said she has been preparing to respond to an impeachment since November 2023. 'The moment that we heard Representative [France] Castro from the House of Representatives mentioned the word impeachment. So we've been preparing for this and we've hired lawyers since 2023, so they will answer… We will provide the answer within 10 days,' she said. The Vice President also said that her visit to Australia was not a holiday, following remarks from Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro questioning whether her trip was personal or official. 'I do not like traveling at all except for holidays, and clearly I am not on holiday for this trip. I am here to discuss with the Filipino community on ways forward for our country, and of course how we can push the administration to do more for our country,' Duterte said. 'The Philippine government should not discount the contributions of the Filipino communities worldwide… It's good to sit down and discuss with them,' she added. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
6 hours ago
- GMA Network
Taiwan is ‘of course' a country, president says in rebuke to China
"Taiwan's future can only be decided by its 23 million people," Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said. REUTERS/ Ann Wang/ File photo TAIPEI — Taiwan is "of course" a country and China lacks both the historical evidence and legal proof to back up its sovereignty claims, President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday in a strong rebuke to Beijing and its stepped up political and military pressure. China says democratically governed Taiwan is "sacred" Chinese territory that has belonged to the country since ancient times, and that the island is one of its provinces with no right to be called a state. Lai and his government strongly reject that view, and have offered talks with China multiple times but have been rejected. China calls Lai a "separatist." Giving the first of 10 speeches in a series called "uniting the country," Lai drew on Taiwan's history, including the millennia-long connection of its indigenous people to other Austronesians, like native Hawaiians, to show what he said was Taiwan's separate and distinct development from China. Taiwan's people have a record of opposing invasion, like uprisings against Japan's 1895-1945 colonial rule, and under the last imperial Chinese dynasty, the Qing, Taiwan was only considered a Chinese province for eight years, he added. "Of course Taiwan is a country," he said at a speech to a Taiwan branch of Rotary International, pointing also to its presidential elections. "But China says no, that Taiwan is not a sovereign country." China's Taiwan's Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment outside of office hours. China says the 1971 United Nations resolution, which took away Taipei's seat in the body and gave it to Beijing, is one of the legal bases of its claims. Lai, who in March called China a "hostile foreign force," said it was "totally wrong" for Beijing to say that UN resolution had anything to do with Taiwan's sovereignty as it was only about which government was represented at the body. China's threat to Taiwan is real, added Lai, pointing to its daily military activities around the island. "Taiwan's future can only be decided by its 23 million people—does everyone approve of this?" he said, to a round of applause. The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, and that remains the island's formal name. — Reuters
GMA Network
6 hours ago
- GMA Network
Pope Leo urges international diplomacy to prevent ‘irreparable abyss'
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer from his window at the Vatican, June 22, 2025. REUTERS/ Remo Casilli VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an "irreparable abyss," and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict. US forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself. "Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss," Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims. "No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts," he added. "In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent," Pope Leo said. — Reuters
