Palestinian woman sings to amplify homeland's voice amid rubble in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestine

A young Palestinian woman is using music to amplify her homeland's voice amid the rubble of the Gaza Strip which has been devastated by an Israeli military onslaught.

Rafah Naser, 19, has been playing guitar and singing songs of resilience and hope to draw global attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"I play guitar and sing for the sake of my homeland, which I hope will be saved from attacks and life will return to normal,” Naser told Anadolu.

Naser lost her musical instruments and books when her house was destroyed in an Israeli bombing and recently, she borrowed a guitar from her father's friend. She is determined to voice her feelings.

The young woman said she persists in singing and making music as she sees it as a powerful means to express her dedication to Palestine and freedom, despite the challenging circumstances in Gaza.

Naser, who was studying medicine at a university in Gaza before the war, hopes her voice and songs will reach the world.

She expressed a desire to make her voice heard worldwide and she wants to show the true face of what is happening in Gaza to all around the world, including Israel’s killing of children and women, and destroying homes and trees.

"I learned to sing and play the guitar years ago. My dream is to complete my medical education at university," she added.

Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 37,200 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 85,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.