Niv Aivas, 25: Mechanical engineer was expecting his firstborn son

Niv Aivas, 25, from Nitzan, was mistakenly killed by friendly fire near Ashdod on October 8, 2023.

When the Hamas attack began, Niv was at his in-laws’ home in Ashdod. He wanted to be called up for reserve duty but he did not receive an official summons. Nevertheless, the next morning he left the house to head toward his parents home in Jerusalem to gather his IDF equipment, planning to volunteer to join the fighting.

As Niv was driving on Route 4, forces in the area received an alert about a similar blue vehicle that had been stolen by terrorists. Along the highway, Niv’s car approached a group of armed, masked men waiting at a junction. Fearful due to the events a day earlier that they could be terrorists, he called the police and turned his car around to flee the junction.

The Israeli police officers stationed at the intersection believed Niv was a fleeing terrorist, and opened fire on his vehicle, firing around 400 bullets, according to the Ynet news site. He was killed instantly. Within a few hours, police realized the tragic mistake.

Niv was buried in Jerusalem on October 9. He is survived by his wife, Lior, his parents, Keren and Benny, and his siblings Zohar, Itay and Agam. Several months after he was killed, his son, Liev Meir, was born.

Born and raised in Jerusalem, the oldest of his siblings, Niv attended local schools, according to a state obituary. In high school, he focused his studies on art and drawing.

He was a devout fan of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team, and devoted his final art project in high school to drawing the stands in stadiums around the country.

After graduating, Niv enlisted in the IDF and served in the Caracal Battalion. He trained as a sniper and an armored jeep driver and served as a driver for the company commander and as a marksman, his loved ones said.

After completing his army service, Niv studied mechanical engineering at Ariel University. When he finished his studies, he went to work with his father at the family’s Moledet auto shop in Jerusalem, specializing in hybrid vehicles.

While in the army, he met Lior in 2017, and the couple wed in March 2023, settling in the small town of Nitzan near Ashdod. Despite the long drive, Niv continued to work with his father in Jerusalem.

The newlywed couple were planning on telling their family just days after Niv was killed that they were expecting their first child.

His mother, Keren, told the Ynet news site that Niv “was the perfect example of someone who loved others and loved the country. All of his personal choices stemmed from true faith, love of the homeland, a sense of mission and dedication to the cause,” she said.

“Niv set out with a sense of responsibility and with the goal of charging ahead to protect his homeland, his wife and his future son,” she added. “He was determined and motivated to join up with the reservist forces.”

His father, Benny, told a local news outlet that “he and I were close. We worked together in a mechanic shop with my brothers, we were very attached, we were together all day. I feel like half of me is dead.”

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