Oct 7 survivor Yuval Raphael to sing for Israel at Eurovision after hiding under bodies for 8hrs during Hamas massacre
Israel will be represented at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest by an October 7th survivor who hid from Hamas amid dead bodies at the Nova musical festival.
During the slaughter that killed hundreds of Israelis, Yuval Raphael, 24, spent eight hours hiding beneath dead bodies to escape being caught or killed.
Yuval, an amateur singer, still has shrapnel in her leg and head from the awful day she was with her friends at the Nova music festival.
She spent hours on end hiding beneath a mound of dead Israelis in a bomb bunker to spare her own life.
She has been sharing the terrifying narrative of her struggle for survival while participating in and eventually winning the Israeli talent program HaKokhav HaBa (TheNextStar).
She will represent Israel at this year’s Eurovision, which will be held in Switzerland in May, after winning the competition.
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Yuval declared after winning on The Next Star: “I am really eager and happy!
“Thank you for giving me this huge honour and trusting me to represent my country on the grand Eurovision stage inSwitzerland.”
Music has been “one of the strongest ingredients” in her healing journey, according to her, who only started singing professionally last year.
Yuval has been doing her share to honor the tragedy ever since the terrible incident that claimed the lives of 364 young partygoers and left 40 more as captives.
Over the past year, Yuval has participated in pro-Israel advocacy.
She has now discussed her story of surviving the attack in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council.
She dedicated her performance of “Dancing Queen” by ABBA to “all the angels” who perished at the event while competing in the NextStar final.
In the upcoming weeks, her official Eurovision song will be unveiled.
To a number of enthusiastic responses, Israel’s official X account revealed the news on Thursday.
“Yuval Raphael survived the Nova Massacre by hiding under dead bodies,” the caption said.
She will represent Israel at Eurovision 2025 after winning Israel’s Rising Star competition last night.
“This isIsrael.”
“What a wonderful example of resilience!” was one person’s remark.
Someone else said, “She is amazing!”
“We will dance and sing again!!!” wrote a third.
Nova music festival massacre
The October 7, 2023, massacre at the Nova Music Festival is thought to have been the catalyst for the resurgence of hostilities in the Middle East.
364 people, primarily civilians, were killed during the outdoor festival as part of the Hamas strike.
In addition, 40 persons were taken prisoner by Hamas, and there have been reports of sexual and gender-based assault against both men and women.
When Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel in the early hours of the morning, the attack was among its first objectives.
After cutting the electricity, a gang of about 50 Hamas gunmen arrived in vans and sprayed shot everywhere, according to one participant.
Emergency responders and survivors testify that Hamas members sexually assaulted both men and women during the massacre.
Lahav 433 published survivor evidence that claims a young woman was gang raped by Hamas militants prior to her murder.
Israel declared war on Hamas and launched an air and ground campaign in Gaza in retaliation for the group’s violent deed.
Consequently, almost 47,100 Palestinians have lost their lives.
As a result, one of the most catastrophic wars in modern history began with the Nova music festival slaughter.
After fighting for 15 months, Israel and Gaza have been maintaining a ceasefire in recent days.
Eden Golan, the winner of The Next Star the previous year, represented Israel in Eurovision with Hurricane, which finished fifth.
Given that it was Israel’s first Eurovision performance since the start of the Middle East conflict, Eden’s entry drew criticism.
Due to concerns that it violated the principles of political neutrality, her team was also compelled to change the title and lyrics of Eden’s song from October Rain to Hurricane.
Due to violent threats against her because of her nationality, the singer was booed during dress rehearsal and kept in her hotel room when she wasn’t performing.
At the time, Eden was obliged to remain in her hotel due to a rally in the host city of Malmo that drew 5,000 people.
Demonstrators protesting Israel’s involvement flocked to Sweden’s third-largest city, brandishing Palestinian flags.
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Malmo had been expecting the surge of pro-Palestinian protests, and there were concerns that the young Israeli-Russian singer would be in danger.
Demonstrators holding signs with pictures of Gaza casualties and smoke canisters lit in the colors of the Palestinian flag.