‘Just like an Israeli citizen’: Filipino caregiver hit by missile recognized as terror victim

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar extended his sympathies over the killing of a Filipino woman by an Iranian missile in a call to his Philippine counterpart on Tuesday.

The victim, Mary Anne Velasquez de Vera, 32, from Basista in the province of Pangasinan, worked as a caregiver, the Philippine News Agency reported.

On March 1, she was injured while helping her patient to safety, and was pronounced dead while paramedics were taking her to a hospital. Her husband, who is also a foreign worker in Israel, identified her remains.

Her patient was also injured but survived under the rubble.

“Spoke with @SecLazaro of the Philippines. I expressed our deepest condolences over the death of Mary Ann De Vera,” Sa’ar posted to X.

“Mary Ann will be recognized by the State of Israel as a terror victim, just like an Israeli citizen. I also said that Iran is a unique case of a U.N. member-state that for years has called for, and has even worked toward, the elimination of another member-state. Iran is attacking its Gulf neighbors, too. It’s deliberately targeting civilians, as in the attack in which Mary Ann De Vera was murdered.”

The Israeli Embassy in the Philippines also extended its condolences. “Israel joins in the profound sorrow of her family and the Filipino community. We mourn together and honor Mary Ann’s memory with dignity and respect. May her soul rest in peace,” the embassy said in a statement.

The apartment of Sa’ar’s own daughter was badly damaged by an Iranian missile over the weekend. Sa’ar said he was in a meeting when he learned that a missile had landed in Tel Aviv, where much of his family lives.

“When I left the meeting, I found out that her apartment was badly damaged. Fortunately, she and her fiancé are okay,” he said. “There was damage to the flat, and they temporarily moved to his parents’ home. She acted bravely, helping a wounded person at the scene. I’m quite proud of how she handled those terrible circumstances.”