RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) — When Ben Binyamin was left for dead, his right leg blown off during the Hamas attack on the Tribe of Nova music festival, the Israeli professional soccer player thought he would never again play the game he loved.
“When I woke up,” the 29-year-old said, “I felt I was going to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.”
Then Binyamin learned about a chance to be “normal” again: Israel’s national amputee soccer team.
The soccer player of Israel Amputee Football Team, Ben Binyamin controls the ball during a practice session in Ramat Gan, Thursday, April 11, 2024. Ben Binyamin was celebrating his 29th birthday at the Tribe of Nova music festival on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel and opened fire on thousands of Israelis dancing to electronic music. Binyamin raced into an air raid shelter, but attackers fired shots and then threw in grenades. He was seriously wounded; his right leg was blown off. He was left for dead. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The soccer player of Israel Amputee Football Team, Ben Binyamin controls the ball during a practice session in Ramat Gan, Thursday, April 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The team, which includes two Israeli soldiers who lost limbs fighting in the war with Hamas, has offered all three a chance to heal from life-altering wounds suffered during the Oct. 7 attacks and Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza. It heads to France in June for the European Amputee Football Championships. Some 16 teams, mostly from Europe, will compete.
“It’s the best thing in my life,” said 1st Sgt. Omer Glikstal of the team’s twice-weekly practices at a stadium in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan. The 20-year-old soldier from Haifa regularly played soccer until his life was turned upside-down when a rocket-propelled grenade shattered his left foot during a battle in Gaza in November.
“It’s a very different game than I used to play, but in the end, it’s the same,” he said.
The soccer player of Israel Amputee Football Team, Ben Binyamin and his teammates prepare to run during a practice session in Ramat Gan, Thursday, April 11, 2024. Ben Binyamin was celebrating his 29th birthday at the Tribe of Nova music festival on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel and opened fire on thousands of Israelis dancing to electronic music. Binyamin raced into an air raid shelter, but attackers fired shots and then threw in grenades. He was seriously wounded; his right leg was blown off. He was left for dead. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The soccer player of Israel Amputee Football Team, Ben Binyamin and his teammates prepare to run during a practice session in Ramat Gan, Thursday, April 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)