Twenty songs calling for peace in Palestine, from Elyanna to Macklemore

A growing number of international artists are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine , through song. Spanning genres from ballads to rock and hip-hop to Arabic and Irish folk songs, these pieces by regional and international artists speak of the continuing tragedy through various perspectives. Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza Some are almost journalistic in their detail of the everyday suffering in Gaza , while others provide a historical overview of Palestine long before the current daily bombardment. Here are 20 songs released since the Israel-Gaza war began in October. Released by American record label Empire, Rajieen translates to “returning”. The near eight-minute track features 25 Arab artists singing and rapping verses over a dramatic backdrop provided by Jordanian producer Nasir Al Bashir, alongside Egypt’s Marwan Moussa and Amr Shomali. Those featured include two of the Arab world’s biggest hip-hop stars, Afroto and Marwan Pablo from Egypt, in addition to Jordanian viral sensation Issam Alnajjar, Syrian singer-songwriter Ghaliaa Chaker and Tunisian singer Balti. Each artist then delivers compact verses detailing Palestine's struggle for independence before Alnajjar sings a powerful chorus of resilience. “But the key to my home remains in my heart / And I’m returning with my children in my arms”, he sings. “Even if the whole world stands against me / I am returning, O my country, I am returning”. The songs of Saint Levant's new album Deira is directly inspired by the current plight of Palestinians. A standout from the singer, formerly raised in Gaza by a French-Algerian mother and Palestinian-Serbian father, is Forgive Me . Laced with a with a marauding beat punctuated by handclaps, Forgive Me betrays the vulnerability Saint Levant feels at his success. While proud to represent Palestine on big stages such as the Coachella festival earlier this year, he doesn't want it to be at the price of forgetting his home. Saint Levant’s plea to his mother for forgiveness is also addressed to Gaza as a whole – it is a promise to never forget where he came from. Sudanese-American singer and poet Mustafa wrote the song back in 2020 but released it now as a charity single with proceeds going to the Palestinian Children's Relief fund. It features nostalgic Arabic strings and details his childhood friendship with a Palestinian boy in Toronto. “We grew up on a street where every war meets. All our living rooms were aflame,” Mustafa croons. “But you led the way, how to hold it all and take the day. You wear that scarf like it’s a vein. Always pack your mother’s plates. You won’t let anything else escape”. The accompanying music video is directed by Succession actress Hiam Abbas and features fellow Palestinians, the model Bella Hadid and Gaza rapper MC Abdul . “ Gaza is Calling is about my first experience with heartbreak in friendship,” Mustafa said. “I was 11 when I met this boy from Gaza. We were inseparable. With him I shared one of the deepest loves I’ve ever known. He grew up alongside me in a housing project in Toronto. And not even this love was a match for the violence we were up against; the one in our new home, the one that followed him from Gaza like a cold wind. “In the end it was all the bloodshed between us that didn’t allow us to see each other without tears appearing, and one of the last notes he sent to me was about how we would continue on in another life.” As much a protest song as a love song to the watermelon, which has become a symbol of the Palestinian cause, this quirky tune includes lyrics praising the fruit's resilient texture and sweetness. Attia makes no bones about where he stands on the conflict. The video clip has him and dancers wearing the black chequered keffiyeh while proudly holding watermelons in their hands. A roaring protest track by the Australian punk band, Intifada takes aim at the silence of celebrities and corporations at the continuing bloodshed in Gaza. “Two hundred fifty people killed every day, there's no such thing as being on the fence,” singer Tahlia Borg says over squalling guitars before ending the song with the lament: “Palestine bloomed with love and culture. Now there’s nothing left. We storm the streets armed with humanity and respect.” Intifada is only available through the group's Bandcamp page with proceeds donated to UNRWA for Palestine Refugees. While the percolating RnB track doesn't directly address the conflict, US RnB singer Kehlani shows her support for Palestinians in the accompanying music video. It opens with a quote from Palestinian-American poet Hala Aylan: “Keep your moon/We have our own/Keep your army/We have our name/Keep your flag/We have fruit and in/All the right colours.” It is followed by the popular Palestinian protest slogan “long live the intifada (long live the uprising)". Kehlani then performs the song with backing dancers wearing suits laced with the keffiyeh, the traditional Palestinian scarf. The Palestinian flag is also incorporated in the slick choreography. In an Instagram post announcing the video, Kehlani said the production crew consisted of Palestinians. “As an artist, I was nervous, terrified, worried after losing so much of what I valued for an album,” she said. “I worked incredibly hard on my humanity, paired with the crippling wonder of what music is appropriate to drop during the most historical tragedies of our generation. I remembered my favourite revolutionary poets, singers, filmmakers. I remembered how much impact we have. I thought about my favourite James Baldwin quotes about the role of an artist in society. I listened to this song enough to recognise a love song is a protectors song and is a revolution.” The pro-Palestinian student rallies rocking US universities this year is the inspiration behind the affecting track by rapper Macklemore . The title refers to the name Columbia University students bestowed upon Hamilton Hall, which they occupied last month as they called for an end to the Israel-Gaza War. The name is in tribute to six-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab, who was killed in the conflict. Over thudding percussion and bluesy guitar loop, Macklemore frames the war as part of a wider generational, racial and class struggle. He takes aim at US politicians, technology companies and law enforcement authorities for suppressing the voice of a youthful generation increasingly aware of their rights. “You see, we sell fear around the land of the free, but this generation here is about to cut the strings,” he raps. “You can ban TikTok, take us out of the algorithm. But it's too late, we've seen the truth, we bear witness.” Macklemore also pushes back at accusations that anti-Semitism is behind the student protesters, stating Palestine's freedom is a universal cause. “We see the lies in them. Claiming it's anti-Semitic to be anti-Zionist,” he raps. “I’ve seen Jewish brothers and sisters out there and riding in solidarity and screaming 'Free Palestine’ with them.” In announcing the track on his social media channels, Macklemore pledged to donate all proceeds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. This is the enigmatic American singer's fist song in nearly a year. The title is presented in Arabic and takes its inspiration from Palestinian supporters' rallying cry “from the river to the sea”. Nearly 10 minutes long, it is a brooding and minimal work with Cain's atmospheric vocals heard over a piano. “All your money and good deeds, will not return my blood to me,” she sings. “From the river to the sea, please do not forget me.” When announcing the song on her Instagram account, Cain highlighted the number of Palestinian children that have perished in the Israel-Gaza war. “30,000 Palestinians have been killed under Israel’s occupation since October 2023 and countless thousands more since the occupation began 75 years ago. Over a third of them were children,” she said. “The least we can do as individuals is exactly what Palestinians have asked of us: that we do not turn a blind eye and that we remember exactly what has happened and continues to happen to the people of Palestine. This song is meant as a prayer for them. God be with every Palestinian man, woman, and child.” A collaboration with the UN Chamber Music Society, the orchestral track is a rare occasion where the Iraqi singer performs in English. The resonance remains, however, as Al Sahir sings of the anguish upon seeing civilians suffer as a result of the war. Al Sahir is joined by a choir for the chorus as they declare: “Hold your fire / Hold for those who you love / For you, and for me / We are tired”. The Gaza teenager and hip-hop sensation tries to come to terms with his success, which led him to relocate to Los Angeles earlier this year, and the anguish of seeing his family and friends in Gaza being left to fend for themselves. “Made it out the maze, God's been blessing me / First time in LA, got Gaza next to me”, he raps over a brooding sample of Enya’s Boadicea. “It's in my heart, it's in my veins / I've been smiling at the pain / The bombs lit up the night sky and turn them into day”. In a bid to raise further awareness on the conflict’s tragic impact on Palestinian children, Yusuf/Cat Stevens posted an unreleased version of 1997 song The Little Ones , written in the tragic wake of the 1995 Bosnian genocide that killed thousands of children. “Oh, they’ve killed all the little ones / While their faces still smiled,” the song begins. “With their guns and their fury / They erased their young lives / No longer to laugh / No longer to be a child”. Canadian singer and former Dubai resident Nader Khan questions the morality of the war in this stirring track. With minimal instrumentation, the largely percussive song looks at how the conflict has erased notions of justice as more Palestinians perish each day. “Indiscriminate attacks, bullets through their hearts. Ignore children crying, as the ground offensive starts,” the lyrics read. “The art of blame erases shame, for sanctity of life. Oppression loves a war machine, no matter what the price.” The Palestinian-Chilean singer moved the audience to tears when performing the song during the opening ceremony of Egypt's El Gouna Film Festival this month. Meaning “olive branch”, the sparse ballad speaks of the helplessness of those watching the tragedy unfold from afar. “Words aren’t enough, what else can I say?” she sings. “My tears have dried out, and my heart is broken / I'm far away, but I’m praying for you. “And I’m sending peace, on an olive branch / In the land of peace, peace is dead / And the world is sleeping on a hurt child”. Released under main music project Mount Eerie, veteran indie-singer-songwriter Phil Elverum's latest track leads the new compilation Merciless Accelerating Rhythms – Artists United for a Free Palestine . The song is one of 55 included in the compilation, featuring indie acts like Aunt Ant, Honeypuppy and Fraternal Twin. Part of the proceeds from the release go to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. A song about Palestine by an American folk singer in the form of a traditional rebel Irish tune? Yep, it's a real thing. Oh Palestine, Oh Palestine by Seth Staton Watkins may not sound like the traditional protest songs we're accustomed to hearing, but it packs its own punch as it tells the story of the state since 1948. In his accompanying note, Watkins said he was compelled to the write the song in response to the death toll during the war: “I have seen footage that I cannot unsee and I weep for the martyrs and all those still suffering.” An intriguing hip-hop track in which the Egyptian rapper provides a wide-ranging sweep of Palestine's history. El Ganainy describes it as a multicultural society that welcomes “Africans, the Europeans, the Kipchaks, the Slavs, the Bosniaks, the Tatar, the Turks, the believers, the disbelievers, the poor, the rich, the hermits, and the miscreants.” The song urges young people to do their research and challenges prevailing narratives surrounding Palestine. Artists from north and western Ireland have come together for a song, proceeds for which will be donated to Medical Aid for Palestinians. Led by Nodlaig Ni Bhrollaigh and Joleen McLaughlin from The Henry Girls, the tender piece also features acclaimed harpists Lauren O’Neill, Grainne Meyer, and Lucia McGinnis. The song laments the thousands of children killed or devastated by the war and pleads for all ensuing peace. “Over the last eight months, more than 15,000 children have been killed and many more have been orphaned and seriously injured,” the artists said in a statement. “We have been witnessing the collective punishment of children and they desperately need an immediate and permanent ceasefire.” A call for resilience in the face of tragedy, the Swedish-Moroccan nasheed singer tackles each verse from the perspective of victims, their families and supporters. “I saw those rockets and bombs shining in the sky / Like drops of rain in the sun's light / Taking away everyone dear to my heart / Destroying my dreams in a blink of an eye”, he sings. “What happened to our human rights? / What happened to the sanctity of life?” The pensive track by the Egyptian rockers supports Palestinians’ rights to their historic homeland. “We are the people of the land / The original inhabitants, we stand”, the song begins. “Roots reaching back to the tenth generation, Palestine, our anthem, our declaration”. After reaching its crescendo, the song ends with a powerful message from the eyes of a Palestinian child: “Laughter hasn't left me, it's my battle cry / I am a child teaching the world to live / A world where lessons are given and life, I give”. Meaning “Palestine is my country”, the plaintive track by the Kuwaiti singer has been streamed more than 10 million times since its November release. The song explores the Arab world's enduring attachment to the Palestinian cause: “Palestine is my country / We carry it whether as a wound or as hope”.

Twenty songs calling for peace in Palestine, from Elyanna to Macklemore

International and regional artists are speaking their mind through music