Ahmad Abu-Amsha is a musician and a father raising five children. He once made a living through concert performances.

He lived in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, but since the outbreak of the war, he has been forced to evacuate twelve times. He currently lives in a camp within The Unknown Soldier’s Park in western Gaza. In January 2025, when a ceasefire was announced, he returned to Beit Hanoun, only to find his home and studio reduced to rubble. Even so, he chose to stay, pitching a tent in one of the few rooms that remained relatively intact.

However, when the ceasefire collapsed again in March 2025, he moved to the Al-Rimal district, where he continues to live today.

Ahmad relies on news from his smartphone and information from those around him to check the current situation and the safety of his acquaintances. His days are filled with anxiety, and prayer is the only thing that keeps him steady.

Amid such a life in displacement, Ahmad began to wonder: “Could music help blow away this anxiety?” Together with fellow musicians he once worked with at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, he began teaching instruments and singing to children.

For Ahmad, the moments when children—whose smiles had been lost to the fear of war—begin to smile again through music are his greatest source of support. Those brief moments, when they can forget the war even for an instant, are the reason he continues his work.

Ahmad believes that music is an act of resistance against war, and the most powerful way to make one’s voice heard by the world. He calls out to artists everywhere: “To remain silent in the face of injustice is to be complicit.” His current goal is to bring the joy of music to as many children as possible. Without losing hope for Palestine, Ahmad continues to play music today.

Ahmad lives in a camp within The Unknown Soldier’s Park in western Gaza.
The park, once located in “The Unknown Soldier’s Square,” was loved by the citizens as a place of recreation and relaxation.
At the center of the square once stood a large statue of a soldier, surrounded by a spacious green area.
Now, dozens of tents have been set up in that very place.
On the bulletin board-style social media site Reddit, a video comparing the park’s former appearance with its current state has been posted.

The Unknown Soldier's Square is a significant landmark in Gaza City. This video shows how the site looked before and during the ongoing Israeli genocide.