A 32-year-old Australian man has died in southern Gaza while fighting alongside the Israeli Defence Forces in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Reserves Captain Lior Sivan was serving as tank commander when he was killed on Tuesday, December 19, 2023.
“An Australian man has been killed while fighting with an Israeli armoured brigade in southern Gaza,” the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) said on Tuesday.
“He had been called up by the Israeli Defence Forces hours after the October 7 Hamas ground attack on southern Israel and had only left the Gaza Strip briefly a few times since then.”
Captain Sivan was waiting for his leave to be with his wife, Liav, who is pregnant and about to give birth to their daughter next week.
The couple also have a two-year-old son.
Captain Sivan’s father, Dan Sivan, said his son was “not a fighter by nature” but had wanted to “protect” Israel.
“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 and was called to a reservist on the 7th of October, because he realised, like all of us, that we can only defend ourselves, no one can do it for us,” Mr Sivan told the ABC.
Mr Sivan also said his son, who was born in Melbourne and had moved to Israel with his family, was killed by Hamas during an ambush. The family was advised not to view the corpse.
Captain Sivan was buried in the military section of a cemetery in Beit Shemesh, located 30 kilometres west of Jerusalem.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told SkyNews.com.au it was seeking further confirmation on the matter.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of reports that an Australian citizen has been killed in Gaza and is urgently seeking further confirmation,” a DFAT spokesperson said.
“We send our condolences to his family during this difficult time and stand ready to provide consular assistance.”
The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 after Hamas launched an attack in Israel’s south, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 captives.
The majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
On Wednesday, Palestinian health authorities said almost 21,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the war as Israeli air strikes continue to pound the area.
(SKY NEWS)
