Hopes are high to locate the whereabouts of Loreta Villarin Alacre, a Negrense caregiver in Israel who was reported missing after the rampage of Hamas militants in Southern Israel bordering Gaza over the weekend.

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday the provincial government is also taking steps to locate Alacre, who hails from Cadiz City in northern Negros.

“We’re all looking for her. We’re all trying to contact her directly,” he told reporters.

Lacson said he wants to confirm a report she has been found in a hospital as her case has already been reported to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) satellite office here.

“We’re hoping for the best,” he said.

On Wednesday, Alacre’s elder sister, Annabella, said they could not contact her 49-year-old sibling since Oct. 8.

Working in Haifa and Tel Aviv for 15 years now, Alacre was attending a music festival near the boundary of the Gaza Strip during her day off on Oct. 7, a day before she was reported missing, her sister added.

Alacre’s employer Noam Solomon, posted on Facebook that her “dedicated caregiver for the last six years is missing” and uploaded a collage of the Negrense’s pictures as a cover photo with the text, “Please help find my Lorie.”

“If anyone knows, hears, or sees, please update in a personal message as soon as possible,” she added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed that two of the six reported missing Filipinos were killed amid the armed conflict between Israeli forces and the Hamas Islamist group.

According to the DFA, the victims were a 36-year-old woman from Pangasinan who had been working in Israel for six years and a 42-year-old man from Pampanga. (PNA)

Photo credit: Facebook/profile.php?id=1266532676