Prayers Held at Western Wall for Safe Return of Hostages

Jerusalem, 19 October, 2023 (TPS) -- A special Thursday evening prayer session was held at the Western Wall for the safe return of hostages held in Gaza, and for the success of the Israel soldiers in the war against Hamas.

Avichai Brodtz, whose wife and three children were abducted and taken to Gaza, and Rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz participated in the event, which included recitation of Psalms and prayers for the welfare of soldiers.

Such gatherings at the Jerusalem holy site are held during times of national emergency.

The Western Wall is the only remnant of a retaining wall encircling the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great in the first century and is the holiest site where Jews can freely pray. The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Jewish Temples were built, is the overall holiest site in Judaism.

The Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday that 203 hostages are being held in the Gaza Strip.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the families have been notified and stressed that the number will likely rise, as the military receives new information.

Some of the notifications were made with high confidence and others with moderate to low confidence, per Hagari. Other families of missing Israelis have been told that their loved ones are not hostages.

Nearly two weeks after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel’s Gaza border communities, many Israelis remain unaccounted for. The IDF is continuing to search near the Gaza border, and forensic experts are working around the clock to identify bodies.

More than 1,400 Israelis were killed and over 4,600 others were injured in the attacks.