A British man was brutally killed by Hamas militants as he heroically evacuated Israelis from a massacre-hit town.
The area of Be'eri had been turned into a bloodbath by gunmen from Gaza, who set about butchering babies and townspeople, including Benjamin Trakeniski who had travelled from Tel Aviv to help residents. The brave 32-year-old British-Israeli citizen was off duty from the Brigade 7 Unit, when murdered on October 7.
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Benjamin, was to be married to Israeli tattoo artist, Rotem next April. His surviving fiancée read out their wedding vows at his funeral. His family has since paid tribute, with mum Liz Bennett saying: "You cared for your frail grandparents with respect and dignity and you were ever conscious of soldiers’ needs. Benji, thank you for the honour of letting you be my son."
Further tributes from an unnamed friend of Benji, speaking to Jewish News, said: "Benji was the most positive, pure and kind-hearted person. He was all about helping others and in this heroic way he also died by saving many lives at the Be’eri fighting.
"Benji and his fiancée Rotem were supposed to get married in April. At the funeral, she read the vow she was supposed to read at the wedding, as a eulogy. People were sobbing. Hearing a father say Kaddish for his child is the worst and most heart-breaking thing in the world. Rotem’s speech was so touching. She read it in tears and we were all crying with her."
Confirmation of Benjamin's tragic death was found just days after he was reported missing, with his sister, Sharon, posting a photo to Instagram of tattoos which would help identify the military man, The Sun reported.
Mrs Bennett, speaking to The Telegraph, added: "He was off duty and at his home in Tel Aviv and initially drove with colleagues to his base in the north in the morning when they heard rumours about what was happening.
"When they found out what was going on in Be’eri they drove from the base to the kibbutz and managed to eliminate some terrorists and help some families who were hiding from the terrorists. We do not know the full details, but I understand he then went back into the kibbutz and was killed at that point."
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