Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef shlita, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, released the following message as our soldiers enter Gaza (the Hebrew original follows the translation):
"Our strength is in our voices*, each one of us is commanded to pray, recite Psalms, and when doing any good deed, to dedicate it to the success of our soldiers who are ready to sacrifice their lives for the protection of the Jewish People".
(*a reference to the Patriarch Isaac's words about the voice being the voice of Jacob, used by our Sages to refer to prayer)
הראש״ל הגר״י יוסף: ״אין כוחנו אלא בפינו, כל אחד ואחד מחויב, בתפילה, בתהילים ובכל מעשה טוב אשר הוא עושה, לכוין להצלחתם של החיילים אשר מחרפים את נפשם למען הגנת עם ישראל
Rav Kanievsky shlita has requested that following the lighting of tonight's Sabbath candles, every woman recite the following chapters in the Book of Psalms: 130, 131, 144 83,91.
The following is the traditional prayer for IDF soldiers, written by the late Chief Rabbi (and former Chief IDF Rabbi) Rav Shlomo Goren:
He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.
May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.
May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.
(The youtube video of the prayer in Hebrew is by Joshua Halickman)
Prayer written for Operation Protective Edge by Rav Dov Berkowitz and Rabbanit Rivka Shapira of Machon Shuva in Ofra, Binyamin:
Lord of the Universe, Lord of Peace, Peace is His, He Whose People of Israel are chosen with love:I thank you with all my heart and soul for the great miracles we have merited during thedays of the operation forced upon us by our enemies. As it states in Your Holy Works: "...See that our enemies are roaring and lifting their heads...they have said let us go and destroy them and the name of Israel will be remembered no more." And You in Your great mercy spread over us the sukkah of Your care. Hundreds of bombs of fire have been launched at Your people's cities, and I stand in awe and wonder at your miracles each minute for Your people, and on your bountiful goodness that you guard us and our children from injury.May it be Your Will that in your vast mercy you protect us from all evil and guard those who dwell in our land and our soldiers who sactify Your Name in the worldMay it be Your Will that you send succor the citizens of the south and strengthen their hearts to have faith in You and the hope in your Salvation soonMay it be Your will that we all merit rejoicomg in the uprooting of evil from Your world blessed with life"May the righteous see and be glad, the upright rejoice, the pious be elated..and all evil disappear as smoke when you eliminate the wicked rulers from the land" and "I will grant peace to the land, you will lie without fear, and I will elimi ate evil creatures from the land and the sword will pass through your land once more."