The Commander of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman lit the menorah on Thursday, the first night of Hanukkah, with the reservists of the 551st Brigade, who are fighting in the Gaza Strip in the Jabalya area.
"This is a long, important, and difficult war, and this is a symbolic moment, lighting the Hanukkah candles," the general told the soldiers.
He noted that "at this time when we are here in Jabalya, our families are singing and lighting candles, and rely on us and are proud of us."
"You are the Maccabees of our day; you are the commanders who lead the soldiers, the Maccabees of our day, and we will continue onward to victory," Finkelman concluded.