IDF soldiers shocked to find Jewish graves in Gaza

"We noticed the stars of David on the tombstones and names like Goldreich. We returned after a few days to the place and said Kaddish on the graves after many years.

“We also found there, next to the cemetery, a cache for the production of many weapons. We did not check if there was an underground tunnel under the cemetery because we did not want to harm its sanctity.

"In other cemeteries, we located combat tunnels that Hamas had built underneath. We were amazed that we found such a pure place in this cursed area.”

Schindler added: “It was an exciting moment. I told myself it wasn’t just our fight — our war is here, because they also fought here at the beginning of the last century.”

In November, IDF soldiers prayed at a sixth-century synagogue in Gaza, marking the first time Jews had worshipped there for decades.

Located in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, it was built in 508 CE during the Byzantine period.

The site featured a famous mosaic featuring King David with a lyre and his name inscribed in Hebrew that was transferred to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem after Israel captured the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Six-Day War.