Man whose wife died in rocket attack during Gaza conflict dies ‘of grief,’ says family

Sergei Avramyan, whose wife Inga was killed in a rocket attack during Operation Shield and Arrow, passed away last Thursday, one month following the fatal attack.

While Sergei, 86, was only lightly injured in the attack, he was never able to recover following his wife’s death, according to his family. Her death was the only casualty reported during Operation Shield and Arrow

“I think psychologically what happened with Grandma affected him,” one of their grandsons, Adam Torossian, told Walla News.

“He was hospitalized at Kaplan Hospital immediately after the incident, because after the incident his condition worsened. After Kaplan, we transferred him to a nursing home, where he was treated very well, but he was in a state of flux. In the last few days, his situation deteriorated significantly.”

Torossian lived with his grandparents in their Rehovot apartment but was not home at the time the rocket hit.

"It's sad to lose my grandfather, who was a very intelligent and strong person – mentally and physically,” Torossian said, adding that the family was grieving the loss of both of their grandparents.

"Grandpa was like a hero in the family, an example to everyone,” Adam said at Avramyan's funeral. “He was a strong man, the only one I know who never lied. It's something I don't know about other people. There will be plenty of good memories left. I'm very glad we had such a grandfather.”

He believes his grandfather’s death should be attributed to the rocket attack.

"Ever since my grandmother was killed, his condition worsened. His death is definitely connected to the rocket hitting their home – he died of grief. It was hard and sad for him that she died," he said.

Inga and Sergei immigrated to Israel from Armenia about 30 years ago and were married for over 50 years. Following a car accident that left him with limited mobility, Inga served as his main caretaker.

“He communicated only with her. She was his whole life,” their grandson Arthur told Israeli media last month after the rocket hit. “There was a love between them that you don't see every day. Grandma wanted to live her life with dignity and that's how she ended it.”

In early May, the IDF admitted that a technical malfunction in the Iron Dome missile defense system caused poor performance in thwarting rocket attacks, which was ultimately the cause of Inga's death.