Israeli troops erect Jewish menorah candles amid Gaza destruction

Israeli troops invading Gaza have erected menorah candles amid the ruins of the enclave, which has been subject to two months of Israeli bombardment.

Footage and images posted to social media showed soldiers constructing religious symbols in devastated Gaza, as mosques and churches are targeted.

The menorah candle is a symbol used by Jewish worshippers across the world to celebrate the religious festival of Hanukkah but the act in Gaza has been condemned by rights activists due to it taking place in occupied Palestinian land during a war which has killed around 17,500 people. 

"A 13 meter high Hanukkah Menorah in the heart of Shejaiya, inside the Gaza Strip," Israel’s i24 news posted on X on Thursday, accompanied by a video showing the structure standing in front of a partially ruined building.

Historical moment!

Chabad of Gaza putting up a menorah in preparation for Chanukah🕎 pic.twitter.com/sSfgoTDiye

— SoVeryIsraeli🇮🇱 (@soveryisraeli) November 30, 2023

Photos on social media appeared to show troops erecting a similar candle outside the Islamic University of Gaza medical facility shortly before it was bombed.

""Israeli soldiers were posing for pictures with a giant menorah they had put outside that very same building "they bombed (as a sign of conquest). This shows beyond any doubt that the building did NOT constitute any danger at the time of its destruction," wrote Euro-Med Monitor's Chief of Communications Muhammad Shehada on X.

🚨Israel blows up the Medical Faculty of the IUG to the south of Gaza city.

This was NOT an airstrike, but explosives that soldiers planted in person there; meaning the buildings constituted ZERO security risk!

Israel has detained & killed several doctors since Oct 7 (1/2) pic.twitter.com/0Dw4p93lrS

— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) December 8, 2023

On Wednesday, Israeli media reported that a 'Chabad House' had also been erected by soldiers in a ruined building in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza.

Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported that the move was done by ultra-Orthodox and yeshiva students serving in the Israeli army.

The soldiers reportedly hung a sign reading "Chabad House Gaza" from a window of a ruined building, triumphantly proclaiming the occupied property as a centre for Jewish religious services.

The New Arab could not independently verify the information.

Soldiers prepare for chanukah on the front lines in Gaza.

"Our soldiers are in many areas," Rabbi Levi Mendelson said. "Just like any place where there are Jewish people,we're there with Menorahs, tefillin and other mitzvot." pic.twitter.com/XurR1vVRKl

— Chabad.org (@Chabad) November 30, 2023

Ultra-Orthodox website Chabad Online said the sign was provided by students at a religious seminary in Tel Aviv to fellow student and soldier Yossi Yaakov.

Chabad, a New York-based Hasidic movement, reportedly believe that the establishment of 'Chabad Houses' will increase adherence to Jewish law, ushering in the arrival of the awaited messiah.

Rights workers and Palestinians have slammed the triumphalist gestures by Israeli troops, which have emerged alongside footage showing soldiers singing genocidal chants and slogans.

Christian churches and mosques have been bombed throughout the war, along with civilian infrastructure. 

On Friday, Gaza's oldest mosque, the Al-Omari Mosque, was bombed by Israel - further proof that places of worship and cultural sites are being deliberately erased.

Israel's assault on Gaza, which recently entered its third month, has killed at least 17,487 people and wounded 46,480, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.  Seventy percent of the casualties are thought to be women and children.

In its campaign, Israel has bombed houses, schools, hospitals and places of worship, claiming that all its targets are Hamas