On the evening of October 23, 2026, in Kiryat Haim, a northern district of Israeli Haifa, 43-year-old Yana Zykova was killed — a repatriate from Ukraine, whom Ukrainian regional media call a native of Zakarpattia and a resident of Uzhgorod.
Author: Alexander Khmelnitsky, NANews
The woman died from multiple stab wounds in her own apartment. Her six-year-old son, according to preliminary investigation data, was nearby and witnessed the crime.
Initially, the police detained Yana’s former partner, the child’s father. But on the evening of October 24, the investigation took an unexpected turn: the father of the detainee also came under suspicion, who, according to police information, was also in the apartment during the incident.
Now the investigation is clarifying the circumstances of the murder and the possible role of each of the two men.
From Uzhgorod to Israel: what is known about Yana’s life
Ukrainian publications Groza News and «Novyny Zakarpattia» reported on October 24 that Yana Zykova, as her surname is written in Ukrainian, was born in Zakarpattia and lived in Uzhgorod.
This is a significant clarification to reports from Israel, where she was initially presented simply as a repatriate from Ukraine.
According to the Israeli Walla, in Ukraine, Yana studied art. Where exactly she studied and when she moved to Israel is still unknown.
In Kiryat Haim, the woman lived for several years. She worked in a supermarket chain, independently providing for herself and her son. According to neighbors, she was a calm person, a caring mother, walked a lot with the boy, and dedicated practically her entire life to his upbringing.
Yana had already parted ways with the child’s father. They lived separately, although they continued to communicate because of their common son. The man is approximately 30 years old. Israeli journalists report that he also repatriated from one of the former Soviet republics.
The exact legal status of their relationship is not established: some sources call the man a former husband, others a former civil partner.
Accident and long rehabilitation
In 2025, Yana was involved in a serious road traffic accident near her home. According to Walla, the collision with another car occurred at a traffic light-controlled intersection.
After the accident, the woman required long rehabilitation. The publication also claims that she was found guilty of causing the accident, and in the last two months before her death, she was deprived of her driver’s license. Independent confirmation of the judicial circumstances is not yet available.
It was after the accident that the help of Yana’s mother, who came from Ukraine, became especially important for the family.
The grandmother met the school transport that brought the boy, looked after him, and helped her daughter recover. About a month before the murder, she returned to Ukraine.
October 23: what happened in the apartment on the fourth floor
Yana lived with her son on the fourth floor of an apartment building in Kiryat Haim.
On Friday evening, neighbors heard screams from her apartment. One of the residents raised the alarm, others hurried to find out what happened.
According to eyewitnesses, one of the neighbors took the six-year-old boy out of the apartment and tried to calm him down. Others called the police and emergency services.
At 18:45, a report about the injured was received by MADA — the Israeli emergency medical service “Magen David Adom”.
Paramedic Yuval Surs and emergency medical technician Amitai Elia Itzhari, who arrived, found the woman unconscious, without a pulse and breathing.
The medics tried to stop the bleeding and performed resuscitation. However, the numerous wounds were fatal. Yana’s death was pronounced at the scene.
Police officers from the Zvulun station detained the deceased’s former partner. A mobile forensic laboratory was working at the scene, collecting physical evidence.
A knife was found in the apartment, which is presumably the weapon used in the crime.
Second detainee: why the police became interested in the suspect’s father
On October 24, the Israeli publication «Kolbo — Haifa and Krayot» published a report on a new development in the investigation.
Investigators from the central unit of the Asher district (ימ”ר אשר) detained the father of the initial suspect — a man approximately 60 years old.
According to official police information, he was in the apartment during the crime.
It was previously reported that this man initially appeared in the investigation as a witness. His specific role and grounds for suspicion have not yet been publicly disclosed.
Both men are under investigation. The police announced their intention to apply to the court for a ten-day extension of their detention. A confirmed court order was not received by the editorial office at the time of preparing the material.
The mere presence of the second man in the apartment does not prove his complicity. The guilt of each can only be established by the court.
Was Yana afraid of her former partner?
This is one of the key questions of the investigation.
Israeli Ynet cites stories from neighbors, to whom Yana allegedly said that her former partner was causing her problems and she was afraid of him.
However, journalists from Israel Hayom, who spoke with other residents of the house, heard the opposite: they claimed that Yana never complained to them about her former partner.
Such testimonies do not necessarily exclude each other. But the main thing has not yet been established: whether Yana contacted the police, social services, or the court with statements about threats or violence.
Walla also reports on the alleged previous psychiatric hospitalizations of the first suspect. Journalists suggest that during the crime he might have been in a state of acute psychotic episode.
This is preliminary information, not confirmed by a published medical examination conclusion. The version of alcohol intoxication, which also appeared in early reports, has not received reliable confirmation.
Six-year-old son: grandmother returns from Ukraine
The most difficult part of this story is the fate of the child.
The boy is six years old. This year he entered the first grade of a special educational institution. Israeli media report that he has an autism spectrum disorder.
After the mother’s murder, the child was handed over to the social services of the Haifa municipality. According to the latest published information, he is in an emergency assistance center under the supervision of specialists.
His grandmother is heading from Ukraine to Israel to take care of her grandson.
Neighbors say that the boy is very attached to her: it was the grandmother who helped raise him while Yana was recovering from the car accident.
Social services are simultaneously searching for other relatives who could participate in caring for the child. According to available information, Yana had no close relatives permanently residing in Israel.
The final decision on further custody has not yet been published.
NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency
Ukraine and Israel: a story that concerns two countries
For Ukraine, this is the death of a woman from Uzhgorod who was building a life abroad. For Israel, it is another alleged murder of a woman by a former partner and the tragedy of a child left without a mother.
In this case, the connection between the two countries is especially noticeable: Ukrainian regional media are restoring the origin of the deceased, the Israeli police are investigating the crime, and the grandmother is traveling from Ukraine to her grandson.
NANews previously reported on Ukrainian repatriates in Israel and the study of their life stories. But there is no basis yet to assert that Yana came after the start of the full-scale war: the date of her repatriation is unknown.
There is also no confirmed information about her citizenship at the time of death or the public reaction of the Ukrainian embassy.
A separate question is the possible consular assistance to relatives. NANews has already written about the return of the Ukrainian consular representation to Haifa, but there is no information about its involvement in this case yet.
Second murder of a woman in Haifa in less than a month
According to Walla, on the night of September 24 to 25, 2026, in the Lower City of Haifa, 31-year-old Yanina Rusinova was killed.
Her partner Ali Masuda was detained on suspicion of her murder. After the woman’s death, a three-month-old child was left, who was also handed over to social services.
Now, less than a month later, another child in Haifa is left without a mother.
According to the Israeli organization «Michal Sela Forum», since the beginning of 2026, 23 people have died in Israel as a result of domestic violence, including 15 women and four children. Of the 15 women, 12, according to the organization’s statistics, were killed by partners or spouses, and three by other relatives.
In 2025, the organization registered 34 deaths from domestic violence: 31 women and three children. This is 82% more than the previous year, according to its counting methodology. After these crimes, 51 children were left without one or both parents.
Representatives of the organization urge not to ignore signs of violence and threats, even when it comes to people who have already parted ways.
What else the investigation must establish
As of October 24, there are questions without answers to which the picture of the crime cannot be considered complete:
- What is the role of each of the two detainees?
- Why was the father of the first suspect in the apartment?
- Were threats or Yana’s requests for protection officially registered before?
- What will the forensic and medical examinations establish?
- How will the issues of custody over the boy and assistance to the family be resolved?
Yana Zykova’s name is now known in both Israel and Ukraine. Behind the dry police reports is the life of a woman who worked, recovered from an accident, independently raised her son, and hoped for an ordinary future.
She can no longer be returned. But the six-year-old boy has a whole life ahead of him, and now it depends on the actions of relatives, social services, and the state what help and protection he will receive.
NANews continues to follow the investigation. The material was prepared based on reports from the Israeli police and publications by Walla, Ynet, Israel Hayom, «Kolbo — Haifa and Krayot», Channel 13, Ukrainian Groza News, and «Novyny Zakarpattia» as of the evening of October 24, 2026. All detainees are presumed innocent.