Maj. Aryeh Ziering, 27: Israeli-American canine unit officer

Maj. Aryeh Ziering, 27, an Israeli-American officer in the Oketz canine unit, was killed during the first day of the Israel-Hamas war after his unit was called to the south.

Ziering was buried in his hometown of Ra’anana on October 10. He is survived by his parents, Debbie and Mark, and his siblings Eliana, Yonatan and Tal.

A native of Ra’anana, Ziering’s parents had immigrated to Israel from New York and the family maintained strong ties with their roots back in America. Ziering returned to the US each summer for much of his life.

His aunt, Debby, told USA Today. “He was a kid. He was 27 years old. He had his life ahead of him. He was smart, he was handsome, he had it all and it’s just such a pity that a life was lost. It’s a real loss for all of us.”

His parents told CBS News that they “believe in peace. We believe in coexistence,” adding that Aryeh shared their views. “We don’t want to eliminate anyone from this planet. Everybody should have a place to live.”

“Like I once carried you under my heart for almost a year, you will live on forever in my heart,” Debbie vowed.

In a post on Facebook, some members of his unit wrote that they had been effective in taking over villages and in freeing hiding civilians. “Unfortunately we lost our attack team commander in the battle. His name was Aryeh, which means ‘lion’ in Hebrew. They say he fought like a lion before he was killed.”

His father, Mark, told i24 news that Aryeh was home with his family for the holiday weekend: “We had a wonderful Friday night in the synagogue, family, we danced together and had a wonderful family meal.”

The next morning, he was called to the front lines amid the Hamas invasion and was “incredibly motivated… to go and protect the civilian population of this country. Aryeh and so many others felt such a calling to protect us and give us a peaceful day-to-day life in this country.”

Read more Those We Have Lost stories here.