Amid airstrikes and bombings, a Gazan teenager whose musical future has been upended, has found new life in playing his oud for children living through the daily horrors of the ongoing war. - REUTERS
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00:00In the middle of the war-shattered Gazan city of Jabalia, one teenager is turning his dreams
00:09of becoming a musician into a sense of hope and resilience for his fellow Palestinians.
00:17Fifteen-year-old Yousef Saad was training as an oud player at the Edward Said National
00:22Conservatory of Music in Gaza. The institute was destroyed in the ongoing war, which has
00:28left much of the enclave in ruins, including his family home.
00:34As you can see, the destruction here, I'm now on the rubble of our home.
00:38Our house used to be a sort of city of dreams. All my hopes and dreams used to be in it.
00:44But now, the teenager has found a new use for his training. Braving the constant threat of
00:50airstrikes and bombings, he cycles through ruined streets with his instrument strapped to his back
00:55to play music for children living through the daily horrors of the war.
01:01I try to improve their mental health, even if it comes at the expense of putting myself at
01:05risk of danger, and despite the long distances. This is my duty towards the children.
01:13The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict
01:17was triggered by Hamas's attack on southern Israel last October,
01:21with 1,200 people killed and about 250 hostages taken, according to Israeli tallies.
01:28Israel's following assault on Gaza has since killed over 40,800 Palestinians,
01:34according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
01:39Here at the Jabalia Services Center, Saad says every child is living through tragedy,
01:45whether it be lost parents, neighbors or friends.
01:49Most Gazans have been made homeless at least once already,
01:52adding to the trauma of growing up in the enclave.
01:55Saad says he's happy to be able to give the children some joy through his
01:59oud playing, and insists he won't give up on his dreams.
02:06I hope the war will end and that life will return to how it used to be.
02:10My message to the whole world is, we, the children of Palestine, are always trying
02:15to stay resilient despite the genocide taking place against us.
02:23One of five siblings whose futures have all been upended,
02:27Saad says this Palestinian quote carries him through his darkest days.
02:31If you live, live free, or die like the trees standing up.