Newborn among Filipinos displaced by Iran's missile strikes on Israel

MANILA, Philippines — At least 67 Filipinos, including one newborn, have been displaced in Israel amid the barrage of missile strikes from Iran. 

Meanwhile, there have been no new injuries on top of the seven wounded Filipinos that were reported by the Philippine Embassy in Israel earlier this week, according to the embassy's latest update on Wednesday, June 18. 

The embassy said on Tuesday, June 17, that among the Filipinos who lost their homes from Iranian missile strikes and moved into temporary accommodations is "an infant who was just born on 10 June."

Iran and Israel have been pounding each other with missile strikes daily since Israel launched a surprise attack targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites on June 13. Israel closed its airspace on the same day ahead of Iran's retaliatory strikes. 

There are at least 30,000 Filipinos in Israel, most of whom work as caregivers. Of this number, 178 have sought repatriation as of Wednesday, according to the Philippine embassy's Thursday update. 

The first batch of Filipinos leaving Israel will exit through a land route to Jordan before flying back to the Philippines, with their arrival possible by the weekend, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said yesterday. 

The Philippine embassies in Israel and Jordan on Wednesday also facilitated the evacuation of 21 Philippine government officials who went to Israel for a study tour and were trapped in the country when the conflict escalated last week. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said yesterday that Filipinos have not been required to evacuate from Israel yet.

Meanwhile, there have been no reports of Filipino casualties in Iran.