Maria Reslas

Aug 19, 2003 - Maria Reslas, 39, of the Philippines was one of 23 persons murdered by a suicide bomber on a No. 2 Egged bus in the capital's Shmuel Hanavi neighborhood.

The attack took place at about 9 p.m. as the bus was making its way from the Western Wall to several religious neighborhoods. The Hamas suicide bomber, apparently disguised as a religious Jew, boarded the bus and detonated his bomb shortly afterwards. Seven of those killed were children and over 130 people were wounded.

Maria Antonia Reslas came to Israel from the Philippines to care for an elderly woman after she was left a widow more than four years ago. She left her son, today 16, behind.

After working as a caregiver for a time, she switched to house cleaning, and would work in three or four homes in Jerusalem each week. As an illegal foreign worker, she constantly sought a legal job that would allow her to remain in Israel.

She had gone to the capital's Old City to visit a friend and was traveling to the Shmuel Hanavi area to work at another job when she was slain.

Maria Reslas's body was flown home to the Philippines for burial. She is survived by her son.