Three tents line a stretch of overcrowded, windswept sand in Gaza, their windows open to the Mediterranean waves.
From inside comes singing, guitar, violin, and flute.
The tents are the new home of the Gaza branch of Palestine's national conservatory, dedicated to teaching classical, popular, and traditional music.
Founded in 1993, the institution once had well-equipped offices in Gaza City, three pianos, and storerooms full of instruments and scores.
That was before the war. Israeli airstrikes between October 2023 and October 2025 destroyed the classrooms, practice rooms, auditorium, instruments, and archives.
Ahmed Abu Amsha, a musician and teacher at the conservatory, is trying to rebuild its programs with a small group of former employees.
Originally from Beit Hanoun, he now oversees activities in central Gaza, teaching guitar and supervising choirs.
"Once, back before the war, music for many people was a means of entertainment and personal development … Now music has become an important tool for psychological relief.
We work with lots of children who suffer from trauma and psychological distress caused by the war," Abu Amsha said.
More than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed during the Israeli offensive. Another thousand have died in strikes since a ceasefire nine months ago.
The war was triggered by a Hamas raid into Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
Almost all teachers and students were displaced, many multiple times. Some were injured or killed.
"One of the most heartbreaking moments was the loss of one of my students, Yusuf Salman, who was one of the most disciplined, polite and talented students.
He studied guitar with me … and was killed when a cafe was bombed," Abu Amsha said.
A Shelter from Reality
In the largest tent, a dozen young people gather to sing, play, and listen. The sound of maqams – traditional Arab scales and melodies – filters out across the shelters.
Some are played on plastic hose flutes, others on salvaged instruments.
Yara Abu Amsha has been learning the violin since moving to al-Mawasi eight months ago.
"I chose the violin because I felt it is closest to my personality and most expressive of my feelings," she said.
Between classes, students share stories of displacement, clinging to the few hours of creative escape. "Music means a lot to me.
Before the war, I didn't think about it in this way but during the war I discovered that it has become a real refuge for us," Yara said.
Teachers face journeys of hours across rubble-filled roads to reach students like Mohammad Khader, a 17-year-old who began learning the oud at the conservatory 10 years ago.
Displaced from the north, he lives in a tent near Deir al-Balah.
"Whenever I feel stressed or upset, I turn to music because it calms my nerves and gives me a sense of peace," Khader said.
Demand for lessons is high, so he now instructs new students.
Osama Jahjouh, a flute teacher since 2012, lost all his instruments during the war. He made a flute from plastic tubing.
"It was difficult, as flute making requires precise measurements for tone holes and placement but I managed to produce a playable instrument," he said.
The conservatory, named after Palestinian-US scholar Edward Said, has its headquarters in the occupied West Bank. Its Gaza branch was a prominent cultural feature before the war.
