Jawaher al-Aqraa says it will be a "miracle" if she survives the Gaza war but in the meantime, she is singing to "block out" the roar of Israeli fighter jets over the Palestinian territory.
The 28-year-old English teacher is one of hundreds of thousands of Gazans who have fled or lost their homes after Israel's air raids intensified since October 7.
Now she is with her brother in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp where thousands of families live in fear of air strikes.
"I have survived wars and a million escalations," she said. "With this war, I have the impression that all I do is await my turn to die. If I survive, it will be a miracle." AFP first spoke with Aqraa last year as part of a project on young people across the Middle East and how they use culture to counter crises.
Then she said that music was her "escape route" from the daily trials faced by the 2.4 million inhabitants of the coastal enclave blockaded by Israel and Egypt. Gaza's fifth war in less than 20 years has only made conditions worse.
Aqraa said the scenes she has witnessed in Gaza "have filled me with anger". "All I can do is sing to express my feelings and those of people who have lost their families and their homes. My mental balance comes from music and singing." The young woman said three of her friends had been killed in Israeli air strikes. "This war cannot be described with words. It cannot be compared to what happened before."
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