‘Broken’ mother of Nova music festival victim kills herself in second suicide linked to massacre in just two days

The ‘broken’ mother of a slain October 7 victim has taken her own life in the second suicide linked to the tragedy in just two days.

Yelena Giler, 56, mother of Slava Giler, who was murdered at the Nova music festival in Israel, died by suicide on Thursday – just two days after the second anniversary of the massacre, Hebrew media reports. 

‘That day broke her,’ wrote Slava’s brother, Alex ‘Sasha’ Giler, in a social media post following the tragic death.

‘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.’ 

Since the attack, Yelena had been hospitalised every two-to-three months due to psychological damage, Sasha told JFeed. 

The family’s displacement from their home in Kiryat Shmona is also thought to have added to her suffering, her son said.

‘She took his death very hard,’ Sasha explained. ‘She was also evacuated from Kiryat Shmona, which didn’t make things easier for her.’ 

Sasha, who spent the Wednesday night with his mother and believed she seemed better, made the devastating discovery the following morning. 

‘The next morning, she didn’t answer my calls. By 11am I called the police. They found her phone ringing inside the apartment and then found her lifeless on the couch,’ he recalled.

He described Yelena as ‘a loving woman who lived for her children,’ adding that ‘Life wasn’t kind to her, but she still gave us everything she could, even when she was falling apart inside.’ 

Slava was laid to rest in Karmiel two years ago. Yelena is set to be buried beside him on Thursday at the Karmiel Cemetery, according to Israel Hayom. 

It comes just two days after an October 7 survivor who saw his girlfriend murdered in front of him during Hamas’ attack on the Nova music festival died by suicide.

Roei Shalev’s body was found on Friday evening in his burned car north of Tel Aviv, hours after he had posted a message on social media expressing his intention to end his life.

‘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,’ the 29-year-old wrote on his Instagram account.

Shalev’s girlfriend, Mapal Adam, and his best friend, Hili Solomon, were murdered before his very eyes at the hands of Hamas militants who had crossed into southern Israel from Gaza before launching their deadly terrorist attack.

He had to pretend he was dead for hours after being shot in the back during the devastating assault. He had been trying to hide under cars with Adam and Solomon before they were killed.

The unprecedented offensive shocked Israel to its core and has caused devastating mental health impacts on those who witnessed the massacre.

Shalev’s own mother even took her own life two weeks after the Hamas offensive, which had caused him significant emotional trauma, according to Israeli media reports.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Shalev was seen on CCTV at a petrol station filling his car up with fuel before his burnt car was discovered near Netanya.

The Nova Tribe Community organisation, which represents survivors and families of the victims of the massacre, said it had been ‘shattered into pieces’ by Shalev’s death.

They said in a statement: ‘Roei was one of the pillars of our community, and his death is an incomprehensible loss.

‘We ask to remember him in his most beautiful moments – his courageous support of the community, his leadership as captain of the Nova Tribe basketball team, and his devotion to helping friends in their most difficult times.’

More than 370 revellers were massacred when Palestinian militants crossed from Gaza into Israel in the early hours of October 7, 2023, attacking the music festival and several nearby communities. 

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