Relatives of hostages among thousands gathered at Western Wall for priestly blessing

Ceremony includes special prayers for those held captive in Gaza and for the welfare of Israel’s soldiers

  • Jewish worshippers pray at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, during the Birkat Kohanim priestly blessing during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, October 20, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
    Jewish worshippers pray at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, during the Birkat Kohanim priestly blessing during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, October 20, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
  • Jews participate in the Kohanim Priestly caste blessing during the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot, overlooking the Western Wall with the golden Dome of the Rock in the background, in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
    Jews participate in the Kohanim Priestly caste blessing during the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot, overlooking the Western Wall with the golden Dome of the Rock in the background, in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
  • Jewish worshippers pray at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, during the Birkat Kohanim priestly blessing during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, October 20, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
    Jewish worshippers pray at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, during the Birkat Kohanim priestly blessing during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, October 20, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
  • Jewish men participate in the priestly blessing during the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
    Jewish men participate in the priestly blessing during the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
  • Jewish men, wearing traditional Jewish prayer shawls known as Tallit, gather at the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on October 20, 2024 to perform the annual Kohanim prayer during the holiday of Sukkot, or the Feast of the Tabernacles. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)
    Jewish men, wearing traditional Jewish prayer shawls known as Tallit, gather at the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on October 20, 2024 to perform the annual Kohanim prayer during the holiday of Sukkot, or the Feast of the Tabernacles. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

Tens of thousands of Jews, including relatives of some of the hostages held in Gaza, gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Sunday for the annual priestly blessing during the holiday of Sukkot.

Jewish pilgrims make their way twice a year to the Western Wall on the intermediate days of the Passover and Sukkot festivals, with crowds of men and women spilling out from the Wall’s plaza to surrounding areas.

The ceremony sees male descendants of the Kohanim priestly caste gather to bestow a benediction — known in Hebrew as Birkat Kohanim — raising their hands to perform the blessing while wrapped in prayer shawls.

This year’s prayer service came as Israel goes into its second year of war on several fronts. The war broke out on October 7, which last year coincided with Simchat Torah, the holiday signifying the end of Sukkot.

Family members of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza participated in the service, Hebrew media reported.

This year’s service also included prayers calling for the return of hostages and the safety and success of Israeli soldiers in the ongoing war.

The Western Wall is one of the retaining walls of the Old City’s massive Temple Mount complex, the location of the two ancient Jewish temples and the most sacred place for Jews.

Large numbers of police forces were deployed to secure the event in Jerusalem’s Old City, which ended peacefully and without any significant security incidents.

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