Australian IDF Reserves Captain Lior Sivan, 32, was killed in Gaza
An Australian has been killed while serving as a tank commander with the Israeli Defence Forces in southern Gaza.
An Australian dad has been killed while serving as a tank commander with an Israeli armoured brigade in southern Gaza.
The incident occurred on December 19, marking the first time an Australian citizen has been killed while fighting for Israel against Hamas inside Gaza.
Reserves Captain Lior Sivan, 32, was called up by the Israeli Defence Forces hours after the October 7 Hamas ground attack on southern Israel.
Since then, he had only briefly left the Gaza Strip a few times.
He was awaiting his leave to be with his wife, Liav, who will give birth to their daughter next week.
The couple also has a two-year-old son.
The ABC reports despite not being a fighter by nature, Captain Sivan was committed to protecting Israel, as expressed by his father, Dan Sivan.
“Even though my son loved life, creation, nature, and peace, he saw it as a very important task to defend the country and the people,” he said.
He highlighted that Captain Sivan realised the necessity for “self-defence” and had eagerly responded to the call of duty on October 7.
Captain Sivan was killed in an ambush by Gaza militants in the strip’s south.
His father recounted a heroic act while talking to the ABC during the seven-day Shiva mourning period, sharing how Lior had saved the lives of fellow soldiers.
Captain Sivan, he explained, positioned in one tank, noticed a Hamas fighter attempting to place an explosive device on the tank next to theirs.
He opened the hatch, rose up, and confronted the threat, sacrificing his life to protect his comrades.
His father further stated: “He didn’t think of his wife and his son.”
“He was a hero. He opened the hatch and rose up to shoot him. But it was an ambush, and someone hiding behind a building launched something at him,” he said.
“He was killed immediately. But he saved the four men in the other tank and possibly the other three in his own tank.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told news.com.au it was aware of reports that an Australian citizen has been killed in Gaza.
It added it was “urgently seeking further confirmation” on what had been reported.
“We send our condolences to his family during this difficult time and stand ready to provide consular assistance.”
The grieving family was advised not to view Captain Sivan’s corpse, and he was laid to rest in the military section of the cemetery in Beit Shemesh, the central Israeli town where he lived.
During the funeral, Captain Sivan’s wife, Liav, spoke about their recent conversation and their shared dreams.
“Just yesterday we spoke on the phone, we dreamed about trips abroad and the house and the baby girl that would come, and you said it hurts from missing us so much.”
She said her husband had assured her that his duties were not dangerous.
Other family and friends also remembered Captain Sivan’s sense of humour and enthusiastic disposition.
His sister, Ma’ayan, told mourners: “Lior, you were a person who drew people to you like a magnet.”
Beyond his military service, Captain Sivan, a mechanical engineer, was known for his inventions, including a chair for people with disabilities to be independent in water and a charging cable designed for mobile phones in tanks.
His brother, Gabriel, who is also a tank commander in Gaza, spoke about the last conversation he had with Lior a few hours before the incident.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t warn you in that phone call, not that I could have known, maybe if I had spoken a little longer, it would have changed the chain of events,” he told the funeral.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been contacted for comment.
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