Thousands gathered Monday evening at the cemetery in Tsur Shalom to bury Sergeant First Class (res.) Ariel Lubliner, 34, who was killed over the weekend in the Gaza Strip. His wife, Barbara, carried their 9-month-old son, Lior, as she walked behind his flag-draped coffin, joined by the family’s dog.
At the graveside, Lior crawled near the fresh earth of his father’s burial place, a scene that moved mourners to tears. Lubliner was the 900th soldier to be killed in the war, according to the military.
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Lior, the 9-month-old son of Sergeant First Class (res.) Ariel Lubliner, sits beside his father’s fresh grave during the funeral in Tsur Shalom, Israel, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. Lubliner, 34, was killed in Gaza over the weekend while serving in the reserves
(Photo: Lior El-Hai)
Barbara delivered eulogies in Spanish, Portuguese and Hebrew. Addressing family and friends, she said: “You were lucky to know Ariel in this world. Now I need you more than ever.” Speaking in Hebrew, she also turned to the national debate over military exemptions: “The State of Israel — Ariel was killed in Gaza. He asked that everyone enlist, including the ultra-Orthodox.”
Lubliner immigrated from Brazil a decade ago, settling first at Kibbutz Naan, where he studied Hebrew and met Barbara, who had immigrated from Spain. The couple married in 2018 and moved to Kiryat Bialik four years later.
His coffin was carried by six noncommissioned officers. Before it was lowered, Barbara and her son said farewell. Lior burst into tears as mourners stood silently around them.
Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Lubliner had been called up for multiple reserve tours. His latest began in June and was due to end this week. He was killed in Khan Younis on Friday, just two days before his scheduled release. His parents flew in from Brazil to attend the funeral.
Lt. Col. Gilad Zuberi, his battalion commander, said Lubliner had volunteered for four reserve rotations since the start of the war. “You did everything with immense courage,” Zuberi said. “Your friends describe you first and foremost as Barbara’s husband and Lior’s father. You were a model family man. I salute you on your final journey.”
Kiryat Bialik Mayor Eli Dukorsky, addressing mourners, said: “When I entered your home on Saturday, the first thing I saw was Lior. And I told myself, Lord of the universe, this sweet child will never know his father. How terrible. How is it that the best among us are the ones taken?”
According to an initial military investigation, Lubliner was traveling in a logistics convoy supplying Israeli forces near Khan Younis when a soldier from a nearby unit accidentally discharged his weapon. The bullet struck and killed him instantly.
Lubliner is survived by his wife, son and parents.