In the two years since the Hamas massacres on October 7, dozens of survivors have killed themselves as they struggled to cope with the atrocities they saw or losing their loved ones.
Yesterday, it was reported that Yelena Giler, the mother of Slava Giler, who was killed at the Nova music festival, had died by suicide on Thursday.
Her death came just two days after the second anniversary of Israel‘s bloodiest day, when more than 1,195 people were slaughtered.
Many of the victims were subjected to horrific sexual abuse, while some were gruesomely mutilated before they were killed.
A social media post by Slava’s brother, Alex ‘Sasha’ Giler, described how Yelena was ‘broken by that day’.
He wrote: ‘Until October 7, her condition was stable,’ Sasha said. ‘She was taking her medication and living a normal routine. But October 7 completely broke her.
‘Since Slava’s murder, she couldn’t bear the pain anymore. She reached a point where I didn’t recognise her. She really lost touch with reality.’
Sasha revealed to JFeed that the heartbroken mother had been hospitalised consistently due to suffering psychological damage, which was not helped by their family’s displacement from their home.
He said: ‘She took his death very hard. She was also evacuated from Kiryat Shmona, which didn’t make things easier for her.’
He explained how he thought she was getting better on Wednesday before her body was discovered the following day.
Yelena Giler, left, is said to have come to terms with the death of her son, Slava, who was killed during Hamas’ massacre on October 7
‘The next morning, she didn’t answer my calls,’ he said. ‘By 11am I called the police. They found her phone ringing inside the apartment, and then found her lifeless on the couch.’
Yelena’s death was the second suicide linked to October 7 in just a week.
On Friday, Roei Shalev’s body was discovered in his burned car. He had witnessed the brutal murder of his girlfriend during the mass murder at the Nova music festival.
Hours before that, he had written a post on social media saying he intended to end his life.
It read: ‘I’m truly sorry. I can’t bear this pain any longer. I’m burning inside, and I can’t contain it anymore.
‘Never in my life have I felt such pain and suffering – deep, burning, eating me from within.
Along with his girlfriend, Shalev also witnessed his best friend, Hilli Solomon’s murder. Shalev himself only survived when he pretended he was dead for hours after being shot in the back.
His trauma was only made worse when his mother, Raffaela, ended her own life two weeks after the attacks.
His death led to calls for the government to offer greater support for survivors of October 7.
The Nova Tribe Community, which was set up to support victims and survivors, called him ‘one of the pillars in our community’.
Reacting to his death, the Israeli health ministry said: ‘These days, as we mark two years since the October 7 massacre and prepare for the return of the living hostages to their homes and the burial of the fallen, it is important to remember that the intense emotions we are all experiencing can trigger complex feelings.’
Roei Shalev witnessed the brutal murder of his girlfriend and his best friend at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023
He only managed to survive when he pretended he was dead after he was shot in the back
A little over a year after the massacre, another Nova survivor, Shirel Golan, died by suicide on her 22nd birthday.
Her family spoke publicly about her struggle with post-traumatic stress.
Her brother, Eyal told CNN how her health woes began shortly after Hamas’ onslaught. He said: ‘ She didn’t come out from the house. She didn’t come to visit us, she was withdrawn.’
He said her family had tried to keep an eye on her at all times, but she wandered off as they had gathered to celebrate her birthday. By the time her boyfriend discovered her at the bottom of the family’s garden, she was already dead.
Eyal later said he partly blamed the Israeli government, who he said never reached out to his sister or his family.
He said: ‘They had the list of all the Nova visitors, and they knew (who) is dead, and (who) survived. If someone survived, let’s help them.’
Eyal also told local media: ‘If the state had taken care of her, none of this would have happened. The State of Israel killed my sister twice. Once in October, mentally, and a second time today, on her 22nd birthday, physically.’
Shirel was at the festival with her partner when Hamas struck. The couple hid under a bush for several hours.
They later declined to join a car with 11 other people. It was later revealed that the occupants of the car were either killed or taken hostage.
Last year, Noam Ben David, Shirel’s fiend, who survived, told ITV that she constantly ‘relives’ the memories every day. She emotionally said: ‘It is a nightmare from which I never wake up.’
In February, Vladislav Bongart, whose daughter was killed at the festival, died by suicide after struggling to come to terms with his loss.
His daughter Sofia and her childhood friend Liraz Nissan had secured tickets to the concert ‘at the last minute’, according to Sofia’s mother Anna. Liraz, died when the militants threw grenades into a shelter where they were hiding.
Shirel Golan, killed herself a little over a year after she survived the massacre. Her brother said she became withdrawn as she struggled to cope with trauma
Sofia, back left, was killed during the Hamas attacks. Her father, Vladislav, killed himself as he struggled with the loss. His wife, Anna, said he was ‘stuck in the massacre and felt heavy guilt’
Sofia was also killed as she stepped out of the shelter and tried to run away. In the aftermath of her death, her father visited her grave twice weekly to place red roses.
His wife described how he was ‘stuck in the massacre and felt heavy guilt’ that he was unable to save his daughter.
Anna told local media: ‘I went up to the house, opened the door and realised what had happened. I thought he must have been asleep on a Friday afternoon, but this is the second time life has knocked me down.’
It is not just survivors and their families who struggled to cope with the aftermath of the attacks.
In July this year, Master Sgt. Ariel Meir Taman, a reservist who identified bodies after the attacks while serving with the Military Rabbinate, was found dead in a case police said was a suspected suicide.
Many pointed to the gruesome identification work that followed October 7 as one of the main reasons he took his life.
Last year in April, Guy Shimon, who survived the attacks at the festival, told Israel’s parliament that people who managed to survive the attack were struggling to cope with trauma.
Master Sgt. Ariel Meir Taman, a reservist, had to identify the bodies of people killed in the attacks. He was found dead in a case police said was a suspected suicide
He said: ‘There are many survivors who had to be forcibly hospitalised due to their psychological state. My friends are not getting out of bed, neither am I.’
In January, it was reported that 28 Israeli Defence Forces members had taken their lives amid the Gaza war, which was sparked by Hamas’ actions on October 7.
The figure is a sharp increase compared to the 25 who killed themselves in 2021 to 2022.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .