Israeli survivor of Hamas attack to sing New Day Will Rise at Eurovision
She'll take to the stage in Basel in May.
Israel’s Eurovision 2025 entry Yuval Raphael will be performing a song titled New Day Will Rise, it’s been revealed.
Details for the upcoming Song Contest are slowly being released, though the UK has yet to find out who will be following in Olly Alexander’s footsteps.
Last year’s competition – which was won by Switzerland’s Nemo with their song The Code – faced controversy over the inclusion of Israel following the ongoing war in Gaza, which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinian people following the October 7 attacks, when Hamas kidnapped more than 250 people and killed 1,200 – 360 of whom were attending the Nova music festival.
It’s now been revealed singer Yuval, who is a survivor of the Hamas attacks and was at the Nova music festival on October 7, will be performing New Day Will Rise.
The song contains lyrics in English, French and Hebrew and features verses from biblical poem Song of Songs.
According to Israeli broadcaster Kan, the European Broadcasting Union has already approved the song, with the music video submitted for approval too.
The singer survived the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas on Nova music festival (Picture: Ortal Dahan Ziv, The Rising Star, Channel Keshet 12/Handout via REUTERS)Yuval, 24, shared her story of surviving the Hamas attack while competing on Israeli talent show The Next Star, which she won, securing her place on the Eurovision stage.
According to the BBC, the singer was at the music festival with friends and said she survived by hiding under dead bodies in a bomb shelter for eight hours.
Yuval, who said she still has shrapnel in her head and leg from the Hamas attack on the festival, told viewers: ‘Music is one of the strongest ingredients in my healing process.’
She sung Abba’s Dancing Queen in the final of the talent show, dedicating it to ‘all the angels’ who were killed at the festival.
