Brave Brit, 32, killed by Hamas trying to save innocents from town where terrorist butchers slaughtered babies
A HERO Brit was killed by Hamas terrorists as he desperately tried to evacuate injured civilians as gunmen butchered babies in a town massacre.
Brave Benjamin Trakeniski, 32, died helping rescue people from Be’eri – one of the first places armed militants stormed and turned into a bloodbath.
British-Israeli citizen Benjamin, known as Benji to friends, was off duty from the Brigade 7 Unit but travelled from his home in Tel Aviv to aid the besieged town.
He was due to wed Israeli tattoo artist Rotem next April.
But his devastated fiancee instead read out her wedding vows at his funeral on Thursday.
Benjamin’s London-born mum Liz Bennett also paid tribute to her son at the service, reports the Australian Daily Telegraph.
Mrs Bennett, 68, told mourners: “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.”
One of Benjamin’s friends told Jewish News: “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.”
The pal, who didn’t want to be named, said Rotem broke down in tears as she paid tribute to her late partner.
They added: “People were sobbing.
“Hearing a father say Kaddish for his child is the worst and most heartbreaking thing in the world.
“Rotem’s speech was so touching. She read it in tears and we were all crying with her.”
Before his body was recovered from the ruined village, Benji’s little sister, Sharon, posted a photo collage on Instagram showing his tattoos hoping it would help identify his body.
Tattoos included sound waves of a whale singing, by Rotem.
Sharon later posted to Instagram a picture of her brother with the caption, “Benji the hero, handsome, brave, felled in battle while saving dozens of lives.”
Mrs Bennett said her son was off duty but travelled to the kibbutz to help stricken civilians.
She told The Telegraph: “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.”
It comes as…
- PM Benjamin Netanyahu vows to ‘exterminate bloody monsters’ as troops surround Gaza
- Nearly 400,000 Israeli troops are gearing up for battle
- Gaza-Egypt border crossing set to reopen for ‘limited time’
- Israeli commandos spray Hamas terrorists with machine gun bullets during a high-speed sea battle
- Hamas commanders ‘are training boy soldiers’ to battle Israeli forces
- Biden warns it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza
- Fuel reserves at Gaza hospitals expected to last only around 24 more hours
Be’eri was one of the first towns armed Hamas terrorists swept into and they unleashed a deadly attack on October 7.
More than 100 bodies were discovered by horrified rescuers.
Israeli paramedic Hami Atias, who went to Be’eri in the aftermath of the massacre, told how he saw scores of men, women and children gunned down or blown up by militants.
Atias, 36, said: “Nothing could prepare me for what happened there.
“The smell of bodies – as many times as I’ve showered this week – I can’t get that smell out.”
Heartbroken witnesses told how militants killed and kidnapped children and elderly residents.
Mir Shani, a 46-year-old physiotherapist, told Reuters: “My son was kidnapped. He’ll be 16 years old in two weeks.”
It comes as Israel’s soldiers have vowed to “wipe this evil off the face of the earth once and for all” as they prepare to attack Hamas.
Israel, hated by Arab nations on all sides and often reviled over its human rights record, has always seemed capable of keeping control.
But its new crisis government is reeling from the stunning success of Hamas’ surprise attack just over a week ago, which left 1,400 dead on the Israeli side.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — under pressure from US President Joe Biden — yesterday agreed to restore Gaza’s water supply.
And an Egyptian-controlled border crossing into Gaza is set to reopen for a “limited time” on Monday.