People of all ages had been looking forward to celebrating -- especially this year, as a ceasefire in Gaza has held since October and all but one of the hostages taken by Hamas-led militants have been returned.
A storm has battered the Gaza Strip, creating misery for displaced Palestinians and delaying the search for the body of the last Israeli hostage held by militants there.
An attack targeting a Hanukkah beach party halfway around the world casts a heavy shadow as Jews in Israel celebrate the holiday for the first time in years without a full-scale war or pandemic.
The attack, which took place in the city of Palmyra, comes a year after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the lifting of U.S. sanctions.
One year after the ousting of the Assad regime, some of the first Syrian revolutionaries return to their homes and try to start their lives again. But new divisions and old animosities still fester.
A wife in the West Bank city of Nablus grieves her husband who was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers after he appeared to surrender. An Israeli human rights group weighs in.
As they mark the first anniversary of toppling Bashar al-Assad's regime, Syrians also celebrate another coming milestone: the lifting of sanctions, which could help give the country a new start.