Ivanka Trump Praying For 'Safe Return' of Hamas Hostages While Baking Challah

Former first daughter Ivanka Trump has a lot on her mind right now with her having to testify in the ongoing civil case of her father, former President Donald Trump.

But the businesswoman is taking time out from her busy schedule to gather with friends to pray for the safe return of hostages captured by Hamas.

While Ivanka is fighting tooth and nail to escape testifying in her father's ongoing trial, she still has time to pray for the safe return of Hamas hostages taken during its October 7 attack on Israel.

In Ivanka's post on her Instagram stories, she wrote, "In preparation for Shabbat, I gathered with friends in the community to bake challah and pray for the safe return of the hostages captured by Hamas and the strength and protection of the innocent people who are suffering so greatly."

The mother of three shared a sweet photo of her baking challah in preparation for Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Challah is a unique bread of Ashkenazi Jewish origin. It is usually made to have a braided pattern and is eaten on special ceremonial occasions and Jewish holidays. 

Ivanka was among a score of celebrities who took to social media to share their heartbreak over the catastrophic event that took the world by surprise. 

At the time, Ivanka wrote via her Instagram stories, "Love and prayers for the people of Israel," along with the flag of Israel. She converted to Judaism after marrying her husband, Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew, in 2009.

As we previously reported, Ivanka is seriously looking to get out of having to testify in her father's $250 million civil case. 

The former star of "The Apprentice" was previously dismissed from the case back in June because of a statute of limitations rule. But she was subsequently issued a subpoena by the New York Attorney General's office.

In an attempt to fight the subpoena, Ivanka's lawyer, Bennet J. Moskowitz, argued that the 41-year-old was served improperly. However, this did not help her case, as a judge still ordered her to testify.

Ivanka was meant to stand trial last Friday, but her date was moved to November 8 after her lawyer argued that it could take up to 24 hours to question the business mogul.

Now, in an appeal filed on Thursday, her lawyer implored the judge to consider her kids, saying it would be unfair to Ivanka to have to fly to New York to testify in the "middle of school week."

"Ms. Trump, who resides in Florida with her three minor children, will suffer undue hardship if a stay is denied and she is required to testify at trial in New York in the middle of a school week, in a case she has already been dismissed from, before her appeal is heard," Ivanka's lawyer argued.

Despite this fresh attempt to rescue her by her lawyer, Ivanka is still scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, next week. Her siblings, Eric and Donald Jr., recently had their day in court. The brothers both testified on Thursday, with Eric retaking the stand on Friday.

Amid the legal drama, Ivanka threw an intimate birthday party with friends and family to mark her 42nd year. She shared moments from her party, which appeared to have been taken before the guests arrived, on her Instagram page.

In one of the photos, Ivanka stood with her three kids, Arabella Rose, Joseph Frederick, and Theodore James, her husband, Kushner, and their pet pooch.

She and her daughter both wore beautiful gowns, with Ivanka opting for a short light pink ensemble while Arabella had on an olive green dress.

The boys, on the other hand, were dressed in white tops and matching trousers, just like their dad.

The photos were accompanied by a sweet caption that read, "Celebrated my birthday this weekend surrounded by friends and family. Here’s to another year of great memories with my favorite people!"

In the meantime, Five people who Hamas took hostage have been set free. This has given hope to the families of over 200 victims who are still held captive by the militant group.

On Monday, the Israeli government announced the rescue of Army Pvt. Ori Megidish. Prior to this, Hamas had already released Americans Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter, Natalie, 18. 

They also freed Israeli women, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79. Unfortunately, both their husbands are still being held captive, per AP News.

Hamas has noted that they will release the remaining 200+ captives on the one condition that Israel frees the thousands of Palestinian prisoners they have in custody. The Israeli government has since dismissed the group's offer.