Founded in the West Bank, the conservatory opened its Gaza branch 13 years ago, teaching classical and popular music. Before the war , some top students were granted Israeli exit permits to perform with the Palestine Youth Orchestra abroad. Others played concerts locally in both Arabic and Western traditions.

Suhail Khoury, president of the conservatory, said several students have been killed since the start of the conflict.

Among them was 14-year-old violinist Lubna Alyaan, who died with her family early in the war.

Music instructor Ahmed Abu Amsha said lessons have become a form of therapy for children coping with the impact of the conflict.

“You know this war makes the kids have a lot of problems, like trauma, like starving, they are not sleeping, they are crying, they are sad,” he told Reuters. “So we tried our best to use music therapy in these kids to heal them from the madness of this war.”

He said music offers children brief moments of relief.

“In these moments, we forget the war,” he said. “So this has come to light in my head, why not make some activities, music activity, despite this war.”

Another instructor, Ismail Daoud, described music as a source of hope.

“Music in war represents for me and for all the students whom we teach; it represents hope and an exit from the atmosphere of war,” he said. “It represents the balsam that heals the wound. Music is a glimmer of hope that all our children and people hold on to in darkness.”

The conservatory has continued operating despite the war, adapting its work to the realities of displacement and destruction.