Israeli couple who each lost a leg on 7 October walk down the aisle together
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Israeli couple who each lost a leg on 7 October walk down the aisle together

Nova Festival survivors Ben Binyamin and Gali Segal both had their right leg amputated after terrorists threw hand grenades into their shelter

Gali Segal and Ben Binyamin seen on their wedding day, July 25, 2024. (Channel 12 screenshot;
Gali Segal and Ben Binyamin seen on their wedding day, July 25, 2024. (Channel 12 screenshot;

The traditional Jewish wedding joke is that when the groom smashes the glass under the chupah it’s the last time he puts his foot down.

For Ben Binyamin and Gali Segal the idea of a foot on the ground took on a new dimension, symbolising a determined step forward in their recovery from injuries sustained on 7 October.

The right leg the groom used to smash the glass on 25 July – surrounded by family and friends – and the right leg his bride used to dance with her new husband were both prosthetic.

Screenshot: Twitter

The couple had got engaged a week before 7 October. As part of their celebrations they decided to go to the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im.

When Hamas terrorists struck, amid the terror of overhead rocket attacks, the two ran and hid in a roadside shelter near Alumim Junction. They survived gunfire at the entrance of the shelter because they were towards the back of it. But then the terrorists hurled deadly grenades inside. Rendered unconscious, both Ben and Gali lost their right leg that day.

Screenshot: Twitter

In November, Segal told Israel’s Channel 12: “We want to come to the wedding walking. Only then will we get married.”

Following months of rehabilitation at Tel Hashomer hospital, and after practising their wedding dance, they were finally married.  Mazeltov!

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