'They took my daughter': IDF soldier dies after being hit by train

Yam Mesika, a 20-year-old IDF soldier, was killed on Wednesday by a train in Netanya, after she seemingly lost consciousness.

Magen David Adom (MDA) medics and paramedics administered medical treatment and after extended efforts to save her life, she was pronounced dead. The military police began an investigation into the circumstances of the incident, at the end of which the findings will be forwarded to the military attorney's office for examination.

An MDA motorcycle medic, Noam Levy, stated: "When we arrived at the scene, we saw a young woman trapped unconscious with multiple systemic injuries. We tried to give her medical treatment during the rescue, and after she was rescued, we performed CPR, but in the end we had to pronounce her dead."

Shocked friends, family, and neighbors gathered at the family's home in the Vatikim neighborhood in Netanya starting in the morning, when the news arrived. Ariela, Yam's mother collapsed while shouting "they took my daughter."

'Heavy mourning in Netanya'

Sigal Zarug, a neighbor of the family, eulogized Mesika on Facebook: "A heavy mourning fell on Netanya and on our neighborhood. Yam was a cut flower. I can't grasp it, I can't believe it and still can't digest it. Beloved Yam, we will never forget you - beautiful and blue-eyed. Our hearts are broken."

ים מסיקה, חיילת בת 19, היא הצעירה שנהרגה הבוקר מפגיעת רכבת בנתניה(אורלי אלקלעי, צילום: רשתות חברתיות) pic.twitter.com/hZGoHxpjda

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 20, 2023

Her friend, Lorin Kadosh, eulogized her as well: "What is life worth without you? How do you get up without a message in the morning from you, without your smile? My best friend since the age of 13, I can't digest writing about you in the past tense when only the day before yesterday you were with me. I always promise to pray for you, my guardian angel, and I know and am sure that you will accompany me every step of the way in life. Suffocating with tears, shaking and mostly struggling to come to terms, you are with me in my every breath."

Mor Zevuloni, a friend from Mesika's military service, wrote about Mesika: "Yami, my love. I can't digest, I wish I was in a dream. How can a pure thing like you be taken from the world? You cried with me, you laughed with me, you cared for me like a mother, you were with me. Where are you now while I'm crying over you?"

The mayor of Netanya, Miriam Fierberg-Icher, said: "A heavy mourning has fallen on our city of Netanya following the death of the late Yam Mesika, who was hit by a train this morning, after she lost consciousness and fell on the railroad tracks. I visited the grieving and heartbroken family in the Vatikim neighborhood. An unbearable loss. I send my condolences to the parents she left behind, Ariela and Shimon, to her three sisters and to the entire family. May her memory be a blessing."

Mesika is survived by her parents - Shimon and Ariela and three brothers and sisters. She will be laid to rest tonight at 10:00 PM at the military cemetery in the Ben Zion neighborhood.