When humans suffer most, that is often then when they turn to a higher power.

For the Israeli hostages held under Hamas captivity in Gaza, there were many reasons to hope a higher power was watching over them as they endured unimaginable starvation, beatings, abuse, physical and mental torture, interrogation, sexual assault, and humiliation.

All freedoms were taken away from them, but amidst incredible cruelty, there was one thing their captors couldn’t take away even if they limited or attempted to prevent it – their faith.

As released hostages began to share their individual experiences, there was a common ‘God thread’ woven into their stories.

These are just a handful of testimonies.

Female hostages

Female IDF observation officers (lookouts) Agam Berger (captive 482 days) and Liri Albag (captive 477 days) kept their faith in captivity. Agam decided to take it upon herself to keep the Sabbath. Through Israeli television, she and Liri discovered the Hebrew date from which they could count to Tisha B’Av, helping them calculate when the Jewish feasts took place so they could observe them....

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