Key Points
- A Melbourne-born man has reportedly been killed fighting Hamas in southern Gaza.
- The Australian was called to join as a reservist on 7 October.
- He was married with one child, with his wife expecting a daughter next week.
An Australian has reportedly been killed while fighting for the Israel Defence Forces in southern Gaza.
Reserves Captain Lior Sivan was awaiting the arrival of a daughter to his wife Liav, due to give birth next week, according to the ABC.
The couple also have a two-year-old son, the broadcaster reported.
The 32-year-old was killed on 19 December while serving as a combat officer in the 363rd Battalion of the 10th Brigade.
"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 told SBS News.
His father Dan Sivan told the ABC that Lior, who was born in Melbourne and later moved to Israel with his family, was killed by Hamas during an ambush.
Sivan had been called up by the IDF to fight after the .
Palestinian health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza say Israel's offensive there .
Hamas is a Palestinian political and military group, which has governed the Gaza Strip since the most recent elections in 2006.
Hamas' stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state and stop the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, illegal under international law.
Hamas in its entirety is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and seven other countries, including Australia. But the UN Assembly rejected classifying Hamas as a terrorist group in a 2018 vote.
In 2021 the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories dating back to 2014, including the recent attacks of both Israel and Hamas.
