Yevgeny Golomov, whose father-in-law Rostam Golomov was killed on Monday at a construction site in Yehud after being hit by shrapnel during a siren, told Walla on Tuesday that he had previously warned him about the importance of following Home Front Command guidelines.
“When the siren sounded, he went outside. From the first day of the war, I begged him, ‘Go into the shelter,’ but he didn’t listen,” Yevgeny told Walla.
“During the last war with Iran in June, we were abroad, so he didn’t experience that war. He thought it was a small war, like with Hamas, with only a few missiles fired. He didn’t experience it, but this time it struck him and caused his death.”
Yevgeny told Walla that Golomov had only been working at the site for a few days when the fatal incident occurred, explaining that Golomov’s role was to do plaster work inside a protected room, but he went outside when the siren sounded instead of taking shelter.
Yevgeny said the family first received word that Golomov had been injured and was asked to come to the site. Shortly afterward, he said, the site supervisor called him and told him that Golomov had died.
He described the hours before the family was formally notified as “unbearable,” saying he did not know how to tell his wife, Golomov’s daughter, while also worrying about Golomov’s ill mother.
Social workers later arrived at the family home to deliver the official notification, he said.
Yevgeny said footage circulating on social media from the scene has haunted him since the incident, showing Golomov lying on the ground after he was struck. He said the images captured Golomov’s final moments and left the family feeling helpless.
He said the pain was compounded by the belief that the death could have been avoided, as Golomov had repeatedly ignored family pleas since the start of the war to enter a shelter when sirens sounded.
Yevgeny also said that a second worker, identified as Amid, had arrived at the site only about 40 minutes before the blast. The family was told the two men tried to run toward the site’s exit and were apparently hit by fragments from an explosion in the air, he said.
Golomov's family urges others to adhere to Home Front Command's guidelines
He added that the construction supervisor tried to treat the wounded men at the scene, but was deeply shaken by what he witnessed. According to Yevgeny, the experience has only strengthened the family’s resolve to urge others to obey Home Front Command instructions during rocket alerts.
Golomov, who immigrated to Israel in 2011 and worked in renovations, is survived by a son, a daughter, and four grandchildren.
Golomov’s family described him as a devoted father and grandfather whose life centered on work and family. They said he worked long hours in renovations and spent his evenings with his children and grandchildren.
Yevgeny said Golomov’s daughter has struggled to come to terms with his death and keeps asking why he did not stop to protect himself. “Why didn’t he think of us? Why didn’t he go into the shelter?” she asked, according to Yevgeny.