Belgian Jew to Move to Israel After Attack

“I probably will pack my things, get on a plane and start looking for a small apartment in Israel,” he said, adding that he wants to be near his daughter, who lives there, until she enlists in the Israeli army. “That’s the most important thing in life for me.”

Benjamin said he was walking through the airport to check-in to a flight to Israel, where he planned to spend Purim with his daughter, when he heard a noise he thought was firecrackers.

Twenty seconds later, the second of two explosions at the airport blew off part of his leg. He was shielded from some of the shrapnel because he was holding a large suitcase, he said.

Benjamin recalled seeing a dead person next to him after the blast and realizing he had lost part of his right leg. A Belgian soldier helped stop the bleeding and evacuate him to receive medical treatment.

“I thought I was going to die,” Benjamin said.