Binyamin Ben-Simon shares the harrowing story of the Khan Yunis mosque battle that claimed three soldiers' lives, including his battalion commander's final warning moments before disaster struck.
"The commander said 'something stinks in this house, we need to get out of here,'" recalls Ben-Simon from his hospital bed at Ichilov, where he's been recovering for nearly a year. "Then everything exploded."
That January day in Khan Yunis started as another clearing operation. Ben-Simon's reserve unit, Battalion 630, was searching a mosque when they discovered something alarming - an illuminated tunnel with fresh concrete blocks.
"We saw electrical wires and suspected explosives," he says. "My partner and I told everyone to back away. The team that went upstairs survived. We were standing above the tunnel waiting for orders when the charges detonated."
The blast killed Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Nathanel Alkobi (36), Deputy Company Commander Maj. Yair Cohen (30), and Communications Officer Staff Sgt. Ziv Chen (27).
Ben-Simon suffered the worst injuries among the survivors. After nine months at Ichilov, dozens of surgeries, and missing 8cm of shin bone, he maintains remarkable optimism: "I'll celebrate my second birthday here in hospital, but thank God I'm alive. I'm grateful for that every day."
His wife had a bad feeling before the mission. "She didn't want me going into Gaza," he admits. "But I felt I had to do my part. What made me different from anyone else?"
