October 7 Survivor Is Star Of Israel's Amputee Football Team

Ramat Gan, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Apr, 2024) Ben Binyamin was left for dead by Hamas militants when they stormed into Israel on October 7.

Six months later, he is the rock at the heart of the defence for Israel's national amputee football team, dreaming of lifting the Euro 2024 cup in France in June.

Binyamin was celebrating his 29th birthday at the Supernova music festival where 364 people were killed.

He lost his right leg when the attackers threw four grenades and shot into an air raid shelter where he and his friends were taking cover. His fiancee also lost a leg.

"I never thought I would play football again," said the former professional player, who lost his right leg. "I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to walk, never mind run."

Yet here he was bursting from midfield on his crutches firing a stinging left-footed shot into the corner of the net from the edge of the box.

Binyamin does not like to dwell on the horror he went through during the October 7 attack, which resulted in around 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

"You can't imagine," he said.

He lost friends. The body of one, Shani Louk, was paraded around Gaza after the bloodbath, according to Israel's foreign ministry.

Two of his other teammates at the training session near Tel Aviv were soldiers who lost their legs fighting Hamas in Gaza.

One was shot by a sniper, the other had his leg shredded when his armoured personnel carrier was hit by a rocket.