RUTH Jacobs is "worried sick" about her partner, his children and grandchildren as they take cover in bomb shelters in Israel.
The Newcastle woman gathered with dozens of others at Civic Park on Tuesday evening to pray for peace after Hamas militants launched a brutal attack.
"I'm here in support of my people, the Jews, and their right to pray and their right to freedom," she told the Newcastle Herald.
"No one has the right to take that away from anyone."
Ms Jacobs is heavily involved in the local Jewish community, and said her partner was in Israel at the moment and had other family over there as well.
She said he had told her how they had had to run to take cover in bomb shelters.
Emotions ran high at the prayer for peace in Newcastle as people from different faiths came together to pray.
"It's wonderful to see all walks of life here, supporting prayer," Ms Jacobs said.
Members of the crowd took turns to tell the group of their loved ones in Israel.
Newcastle Hebrew Congregation president Max Lenzer said he had been shocked and saddened by "scarcely unbelievable" reports of the invasion of Israel on Saturday.
"We're still very concerned about what's going to happen in the days and weeks ahead," he said.
"All we can do is hope peace comes soon."
The congregation's Rabbi Yossi Rodal called for kindness and prayers, and encouraged members of the community to take care of themselves.
He said media reports and photos and images from the ground in Israel had been horrific.
"It's really affected me personally," he said.
He said while it was natural to try and gain some sense of control, he had found it helpful to stay updated while trying to avoid some of the "gory details".
He asked the group to take their strong emotions and channel them into praying for peace.
A letter was read from a man on the ground in Israel who had been called up for defence duties and had had to leave his family, including eight children.
"Wars are fought with guns, but they are won or lost in the mind," the letter read.
The service was not promoted publicly for security reasons, and police had a presence at the park.
