Soldiers in southern Israel marked the first night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah by lighting the first Menorah candle at their base in southern Israel.
Hanukkah, also known as Judaism’s festival of lights, marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century B.C., after a small group of Jewish fighters liberated it from occupying foreign forces.
This year’s holiday comes as many Jewish people feel traumatised by Hamas’ deadly 7 October attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people. Militants also took some 240 hostages.
The attack triggered the latest Israel-Hamas war, which has so far killed more than 16,200 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s Health Ministry.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.
