Marina Belyav, a 68-year-old Tel Aviv resident, died Sunday morning during an air raid siren while on her way to a shelter, becoming the second fatality in the war with Iran under Operation Roaring Lion.
Her daughter, Aya, told ynet that the incident unfolded quickly and ended in tragedy. “I went outside and started walking. She told me, ‘Go, I’ll come.’ I turned around and saw that she had stopped and she shouted, ‘Go, don’t wait for me.’ It’s possible she was already having an attack,” Aya said. “I kept walking, and then the neighbor called me and said Mom was sitting on a bench and choking.”
2 View gallery
Marina Belyav, who died on her way to the shelter, pictured: with her daughter Aya
(Photo: Private album)
2 View gallery
Ichilov medical center emergency hospital during Operation Roaring Lion
(Photo: Jenny Yerushalmi and Miri Getnyo, Ichilov Spokesperson’s Office)
Belyav was evacuated by Magen David Adom to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, where doctors pronounced her dead after resuscitation efforts.
On Saturday night, a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman was killed when a missile struck an older residential building in Tel Aviv. More than 100 other people were wounded in that attack.
Aya tearfully recounted rushing to her mother after she collapsed on the way to the shelter.
“I went to her and she told me she thought she was going to die, and that’s what ended up happening,” she said. “It was cardiac arrest with panic and anxiety. Mom was my strength in this life, my backbone. She supported me in everything. I don’t know how I can go on living without her. I live with my mother, I always have. She felt it was about to happen. She asked me for water and I didn’t have any to give her. She choked. It was so sudden — just a week ago we were together on a trip to Georgia.”
According to her daughter, Marina was always anxious because their designated shelter is located on the next street. “We usually leave well in advance because it’s hard for her to walk and breathe from the panic when the sirens start,” she said.
Ichilov Hospital said Marina suffered shortness of breath during the siren. She was rushed by Magen David Adom to the emergency department while undergoing resuscitation efforts, and medical staff continued attempts to save her life. Doctors were forced to pronounce her dead after prolonged efforts.
Dr. Yevgeni Gershman, director of the Pulmonary Institute at Kaplan Medical Center and secretary of the Israeli Pulmonology Association, said in response to the incident that “anxiety itself does not cause fatal shortness of breath. Shortness of breath is a symptom of various medical conditions, many of them related to heart and lung disease.”
Dr. Yevgeni GershmanPhoto: Kaplan SpokespersonTo prevent deterioration of existing chronic illnesses and avoid breathing difficulties, Gershman recommended adhering strictly to Home Front Command and official instructions, remaining near or inside a protected space to avoid dangerous, uncontrolled running during sirens.
He also advised keeping an emergency bag with all necessary medications and medical devices, such as inhalers, both at home and in protected spaces, to avoid situations in which medication is unavailable during extended stays in shelters.
Despite the difficulty of maintaining routine medical care during wartime, he said, patients should not miss regular medications or treatments.
First published: 10:47, 03.01.26