The Filipina caregiver supposedly pleaded with the Hamas terrorist to not shoot them and to just take everything in the house, including 1,500 shekels from her own savings.
Filipina caregiver's heroism amid Hamas attack saved Israeli woman's life — envoy
At a glance
A hero.
This is what Israel called a Filipina caregiver after reportedly she went out of her way to offer money to Hamas terrorists so they would spare her and her 95-year-old employer during the attack on Oct. 7.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Israel said the caregiver, identified only as Camille, was in the bomb shelter with 95-year-old Nitza when the Hamas terrorists broke into the latter's home.
"Camille managed to convince the terrorist to take all her money and not murder them," it wrote on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
"She hugged Nitza for two-and-a-half hours until security forces arrived," it added.
According to Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss, Camille was supposedly closing the shutters of the bomb shelter when the Hamas operative came to the window.
The envoy said the Filipina caregiver pleaded with the Hamas terrorist to not shoot them and to just take everything in the house, including her own money.
"She had some money. She was going to fly to the Philippines two days later. She said, 'I'll give you all the money I have.' She gave them 1,500 shekels (almost P21,000)," Fluss said.
"She gave them the money. They went into the house, took her phone and stuff in the house. And, surprisingly enough, they left," he added.
According to Fluss, the Filipina caregiver's gesture was noteworthy.
"It's a very nice story. A very simple initiative that saved their lives," he said.
"It shows that Filipinas are really very caring. Actually, they have ingenuity and some interesting ideas which saved their lives," he added.
Before the outbreak of war, there were around 30,000 Filipinos in Israel, and most of them were working as caregivers. Fluss described them as part of their families.
"The OFWs in Israel are part of our families. Most of them are caregivers who are staying in our homes with our elderly and disabled," he said.
"They run the lives of our elderly, meaning they take care of them, they bathe them, they feed them, they take care of their financing. There is full trust because, basically, they take care of our elderly. They become part of us and I think they feel that way," he added.
So far, four Filipinos have died in the war between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists. Two remain unaccounted for.
Israel has committed to ensuring the safety of Filipinos amid the war and even offered assistance to the families of those who died in the ongoing armed conflict.