Terror from the Gaza strip has haunted the Holy Land for over a decade. Sporadic outbreaks of violence have tested the patience of Israel’s civilians living in the southern region. The resolve of the government and the Israel Defense Forces has been tested, while they work to balance protecting the people and avoiding war.

Terror from the Gaza strip has haunted the Holy Land for over a decade. Sporadic outbreaks of violence have tested the patience of Israel’s civilians living in the southern region. The resolve of the government and the Israel Defense Forces has been tested, while they work to balance protecting the people and avoiding war.

The last time the IDF sent ground troops into Gaza was between 2008 and 2009 for “Operation Cast Lead.” Those in Israel at the time testify that every man, woman and child, whether observant or not, joined forces to pray for the welfare and safety of the brave IDF fighters.

Navigating the maze of Gaza cities, which were filled with booby trapped buildings, terror tunnels, road bombs and snipers’ shooting made completing this mission particularly precarious and dangerous. The odds of IDF soldiers coming out alive or even unscathed were slim.

Yet, many miraculous stories started spreading throughout the Land, some, almost too far fetched to believe. Amazingly, these stories have been confirmed by those who actually experienced them and give strength to the power of prayer.

Here are two such stories:

Rabbi Lazer Brody, a former IDF special-unit veteran, shared this story after hearing it from the father of the soldier to whom it happened.

The IDF soldier was part of the Givati Brigade. His unit was tasked with cleaning out terrorists and weapons in and around Gaza city.

This battalion found themselves facing a woman dressed in black, standing in front of one of the houses they were told to check. The woman, named Rachel, started yelling in Arabic, “Get out of here! It’s dangerous!”

The soldiers assumed that she was trying to protect her family. However, not wanting to take chances, their company commander called the regiment commander who advised them to move on to their next target.

Suddenly, the same woman in black appeared in front of them and again gave the danger warning. Assuming she must have arrived so quickly through one of the terror tunnels set up by Hamas between houses, a soldier even yelled at her for interfering with their mission.

The IDF troops then went to a third house and, lo and behold, the same woman appeared again. By now, all the soldiers froze in place realizing something otherworldly was happening.

The IDF soldiers called the Golani Engineering force, whose job it is to blow up booby-trapped houses. The unit asked them to check