Harmonies of conflict: songs of sorrow, faith and patriotism in the 2023 Israel-Gaza War

Music plays a significant role in presenting and influencing society’s beliefs and moods, especially in societies embroiled in war. This study looks at the music most aired on Israeli radio in the first 3 months of the 2023 war, which Hamas initiated against Israel, and compares it to the songs aired in previous two wars (2014 and 2006). We show the main themes that characterise the music aired in the 2023 war and argue that these characteristics tell a story of a society caught in shock that feels the emergence of a new reality in which the traditional elements can no longer hold.