A heroic young Israeli police officer, a father of three who rushed to save his countrymen from Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, killing more than a dozen terrorists intent on slaughtering Israelis, took his own life after apparently suffering from survivor’s guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
First Sgt. Igor Pibenev, 32, the father of three daughters, was at the police station in Hebron on the morning of October 7 when he heard Hamas had launched its murderous assault. Driving to his home in Yated, a village near the Gaza border, he first encountered two terrorists near Urim Junction and killed them, prompting two other terrorists to start shooting at him, both of whom he killed.
“The scenario in my head was that I would get home and see a lifeless house, but I put fear aside,” Pibenev recalled. “From Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, I headed home, but I saw terrorists…
