MANILA, April 7, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The Middle East war has claimed its second Philippine victim, Manila said Tuesday, when a missile struck the home of a Filipina living in Israel. The woman was killed in the port city of Haifa on Sunday "alongside her Israeli husband and elderly parents-in-law", the foreign affairs department said, without naming the victims. Mostly guestworkers, the overseas Filipino worker community in the region sends billions of dollars in remittances home each year to families that depend on them as the primary breadwinners. Thousands of Filipino sailors, meanwhile, have found themselves effectively trapped in the Strait of Hormuz, awaiting safe passage through the now-deadly shipping lane, which Iran has effectively bottlenecked. The Philippines said last week that Iran had pledged to allow "the safe, unhindered, and expeditious passage through the Strait of Hormuz of Philippine-flagged vessels, energy sources, and all Filipino seafarers", though the timeline was unclear.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha April 07, 2026 03:31 UTC