From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
82-year-old man dies of wounds sustained in Iranian missile attack on Haifa in April
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Michael Katz, 82, who was critically wounded in an Iranian missile strike on his home in Haifa in April, has died from his injuries, the municipality says.
Katz sustained his injuries in the same attack that killed four members of the Gershovitz family. He died at Haifa’s Rambam Hospital.
Katz worked for decades at Rafael and “contributed to the security of the country,” according to the Haifa municiplaity.
His wife Nina, who was lightly injured in the attack, mourns his loss: “From today on I will live my new life as half a human being, after 55 years of marriage.”
“Michael was a great person to be around, a man who loved life and knew how to enjoy it. Everyone who met him fell in love with him immediately,” she says. “He will be missed not only by us, but also by everyone who knew him.”
Katz is survived by Nina, his sons Itamar and Yoav, and six grandchildren.
An Israeli Air Force probe found that the ballistic missile that was fired at Haifa on April 5 was not intercepted because it broke up in the air and its expected trajectory changed.
Twenty-two Israeli civilians and foreign nationals were killed by Iranian ballistic missile attacks during Operation Roaring Lion, along with four Palestinians in the West Bank.
The Times of Israel Community.