The IDF's "Team Hollywood 162" filmed the lighting of the first candle of Hannukah last week by soldiers of the 401st Brigade at "Hahachra'a" (victory - lit. decision) Square, formerly known as Palestine Square in Jabaliya.
The menorah was placed at the location where several of the brigade's troops fell and not far from where the brigade's commander, Col. Ehsan Daxa, fell. The candles were lit by Shaked Operational Company Commander Cpt. Or, whose company was ambushed in the area, eliminated terrorists, and suffered losses.
"Hahachra'a stations, this is command," Brigade Commander Col. Meir Biderman addressed his troops over the radio. "On October 7th, Simchat Torah, we found ourselves in a deep pit. And today, the first day of Hanukkah, a year and four months since then, we are standing at a higher place, a place that we reached through a lot of effort, a heavy price of blood, and a deep sense of mission.
As the troops lit the menorah in Gaza, the brigade's wounded soldiers lit the first candle at the Sheba Medical Center.