Uvda (Israel)

{{Short description|Place in southern Israel desert}}

{{expand Hebrew|topic=geo}}

{{For|the Israeli investigative and current affairs television program|Uvda (TV program)}}Image:Sayarim Desert Kite in Ovda Valley.jpgs in Uvda]]

Uvda ({{langx|he|עובדה}}) is the name of a region in the southern Negev desert, directly north of Eilat.{{Cite journal |last1=Arav |first1=Reuma |last2=Filin |first2=Sagi |last3=Avner |first3=Uzi |last4=Nadel |first4=Dani |date=2016-01-01 |title=Three-dimensional documentation of masseboth sites in the 'Uvda Valley area, southern Negev, Israel |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212054816300029 |journal=Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=9–21 |doi=10.1016/j.daach.2016.01.002 |issn=2212-0548|url-access=subscription }}

The name derives from the Hebrew word uvda (meaning fact). The region was captured during Operation Uvda in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War when the Israel Defense Forces entered the area with the stated aim of establishing 'facts on the ground', hence the name.

The Uvda Valley is known for the 7000-year-old Leopard Temple archaeological site.{{Cite news |last=Slott |first=Bill |date=7 January 2016 |title=The Leopard Temple of Uvda |url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-leopard-temple-of-uvda/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |work=The Times of Israel}}