Tel Aviv, Jan 11 (IANS): The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has said that 50,000 people participated at a mass prayer rally at the Western Wall, Jerusalem, on Wednesday for the return of the hostages and salvation of the people.

The spokesperson of the Forum, Liat Bell Sommer in a statement said that the senior rabbis led the prayer sessions.

She added that the prayers included the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel and those who are kidnapped and held hostages in Gaza under Hamas's captivity.

The Yom Kippur Katan prayer (Minor Day Atonment) said, "Our brothers and sisters, the entire family of Israel, who are delivered into distress and captivity, whether they are on sea or dry land -- may the Omnipresent one have mercy on them and remove them from distress to relief, from darkness to light."

Among the rabbis who took part in the prayers were, The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Lau, the Western Wall Rabbi Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, and additional leading rabbis from the Haredi and religious Zionist sectors.

The families of the hostages read Psalms with the 50,000 prayers, heard a special "He who blessed" prayer for the hostages, and were moved by the singing of the gathering crowds.