'He was a true hero': Friends of Canadian killed in Israel share story of his last moments

The Vancouver man killed in Israel while attending a music festival is being remembered for being a hero until his last moments.

On Tuesday evening, during a gathering at Jack Poole Plaza, friends of Ben Mizrachi shared that he used his medical training to help those wounded around him.

“We understand that during the attack, Ben came back with a wounded friend, keeping himself in danger to care for others,” said Maytar Fadida, Mizrachi’s friend.

“He used the training that he learned during his time as a medic with the (Israeli Defence Forces) to tend to wounded people at the festival before he died. That’s who Ben was. He was a true hero.”

The impact of Mizrachi’s death has been felt across the city. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who condemned a pro-Palestinian rally on Monday, attended Tuesday’s gathering. He was emotional when answering questions about the impact Mizrachi’s death has had on him and the community.

“We have four boys, they all have friends in that community who have been affected, and we know people who have been hurt. We know people in Israel right now. It was tough,” said Sim.

The city’s mayor denounced recent acts of violence and threats directed at community members for their religion and urged residents to find peace.

“I want to be very clear: Hamas is a terrorist organization. What they did does not represent human rights or Palestinian rights,” said Sim. “Vancouver is a city of love, of peace and inclusion. I find it disturbing, and quite disgusting, that people would be celebrating their murder of little babies and unarmed civilians.”

Sim went on to say although Vancouver is a city that celebrates free speech, there’s no place for celebrating Hamas.

“There is a line that can be crossed, and if that line is crossed, expect a response from the City of Vancouver,” said Sim.

Both the city and police have said they are working together to maintain safety for all communities as tensions rise, with demonstrations likely to continue around the city.

Three Canadians have been confirmed dead in the Israel-Hamas war. 

Ottawa is now working on getting Canadians out of the war zone by Thursday or Friday.