"Don't Wait For Me": The Heartbreaking Death of Marina Bleib on Her Way to Shelter

A second civilian death was recorded in the current round of the Iran war when Marina Bleib, 68, from Tel Aviv, collapsed from acute shortness of breath while rushing to the safe room during morning rocket alerts. Her daughter Aya, who was with her in her final moments, recounted the heartbreaking scene. "She shouted at me not to wait for her, she simply choked. Just a week ago we were still traveling together in Georgia," Aya said in tears.

The two left the house together when the siren sounded, but on the way Marina urged her daughter to go ahead. "She said to me: 'Go, I'm coming.' When I turned around I saw her stopping. She shouted at me again not to wait for her," Aya added. A neighbor who saw Marina sitting on a bench outside the shelter struggling to breathe called for help. By the time Aya ran back, the situation was critical. "She looked at me and said she felt she was about to die," Aya described. "There was crazy panic, everything happened at once. She asked for water and I didn't have any to give her, she simply choked."

Magen David Adom teams performed intense resuscitation efforts on the way to Ichilov Hospital, but despite the doctors' best efforts in the emergency department, her death was declared. The incident was sudden with no prior signs of respiratory distress. Only a week earlier the mother and daughter had returned from a joint trip to Georgia where Marina was in perfect health.

The death highlights the dangers for people with chronic lung conditions during rocket attacks, when stress, smoke, and repeated sheltering can trigger severe breathing crises. Dr. Liran Levy, head of the Pulmonary Institute at Sheba Medical Center, noted an increase in respiratory exacerbations during security tensions. He advised patients to keep two weeks of medication, never stop inhalers or biological treatments, avoid smoke and dust, have an oxygen backup plan for power outages, prefer oxygen concentrators over cylinders when missile risk is high, and seek immediate medical advice for new or worsening shortness of breath.

The institute is operating in emergency mode with remote medicine, 24/7 pulmonary team availability for complex patients, and close cooperation with intensive care and transplant units.