Rafah, Gaza Strip – In the center of Rafah, near the Al-Awda mosque, a small bird flutters in a cage hanging on the outside wall of a school currently used as a shelter for people who have been displaced by the Israeli bombing of the Strip from Gaza.
Its soft song catches the attention of Hassan Abu Jazar, who has come here in search of birds to buy, prompting him to stop. He approaches the seller and asks him to take a closer look, then gently turns the cage from left to right.
Abu Jazar has spent weeks searching for this particular bird, known locally as “canar” (from the word canary), a bird named after the Canary Islands off the western coast of North Africa.
Intrigued onlookers who are here to buy their own birds begin to grow impatient during their long examination: checking the pitch of the bird's song, hearing about the times of day when it is most active, and asking detailed questions about its general behavior. They want you to continue with your purchase, so that they too can have the opportunity to watch the birds.
But Abu Jazar needs to be thorough: He wants to find a canary that is happy, not calm, and that sings in the right pitch before he commits to buying it. And these birds are not cheap: this one is priced at 150 shekels (just over $41).
The 23-year-old can't hold back a smile. He has found the bird he is looking for.
These birds, once sought after for their vibrant colors and soothing melodies, now serve a very important purpose. They help Palestinians endure the thunderous sounds of explosions during the relentless Israeli bombardment. Their song can also partially drown out, or at least somewhat distract, the drones of missile-carrying drones.
A shield against terrorism
Prolonged exposure to the horrors of war has taken a heavy toll on the mental health of Gaza's population, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Abu Jazar, who has been struggling with anxiety since the start of the war, has found great comfort in the singing of the canaries he keeps caged in his bedroom.
“The songs of the canaries can protect any space against the terror that comes with the violent sound of bombing,” he tells Al Jazeera. “They give me a sense of comfort that helps me endure the fear.”
His five birds, including his latest acquisition, are not loud enough to drown out the sound of explosions, but their soft tones help calm him down.
Abu Jazar, who lives in Tal as-Sultan in Rafah, is one of thousands fighting against the terror unleashed by Israeli bombings.
The collapse of Gaza's healthcare system has left no room for the provision of any form of mental health treatment. The remaining doctors in the enclave – who probably have an idea about how to treat mental health problems – are battling an avalanche of physical injuries that they must prioritize while working around the clock in the remaining hospitals, which operate partially.
Choking explosions with bird songs
Even before the war, Palestinians had long collected songbirds (canaries, goldfinches, lovebirds and sparrows) for their comforting melodies. Now they are becoming mental health allies.
“The sounds of the explosions from the Israeli bombings are terrifying and there is no other alternative to calm the children's fear than the sounds of the canaries,” says Raed al-Qudra, who has been displaced by the war from the center of Khan. Yunis to an area south of the city.
Al-Qudra's four daughters and two sons are among the more than one million children in the Gaza Strip who the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates are in urgent need of mental health care and psychosocial support.
“My daughters love birds because their colors make them feel safer, calmer and more alive. We consider their presence in the house as part of the few means of entertainment left since the war,” she states.
Al-Qudra, who has raised birds for the past 10 years, first introduced his family to the power of birdsong two years ago, during the Israeli bombing of the city in 2022. It helped them calm down, he says.
Recently, I was hoping to buy more. Despite the harsh conditions of displacement, she has repeatedly visited Rafah markets in search of birds. A few days ago she managed to acquire three birds from a seller who agreed to sell them at a lower price than usual due to the difficult economic situation in Gaza.
Although the cost of feeding the birds is an additional burden, he says: “Children's mental health is of paramount importance.”
Booming bird market
Four months after the October 7 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas, Israel's military campaign has reduced most of the Gaza Strip to rubble. Aerial bombardments and ground raids have killed nearly 29,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women. Thousands more are feared buried beneath the ruins and presumed dead.
Rafah, the focus of Israel's latest military operation, has become the most densely populated area in Gaza, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled the attack in the northern and central regions of the enclave are now crowded into the southernmost city. Amid the sprawling sea of refugee tents that now line its streets, an unlikely songbird market is thriving.
While some vendors have set up stalls, others wander around carrying birds in cages.
Bird seller Kamal Dedar moves around potential customers, offering detailed descriptions of the different species, colors and prices available. Dedar is from the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City and now lives with his family of 10 in a shed in Rafah.
Some clients approach cages displayed on the street or hanging on nearby walls of the shelter, to closely inspect the birds. Dedar lists the local names of his species. Its population includes canaries, lovebirds, breeds of transient birds (sparrows) and more.
The prices deter some potential buyers. Dedar also notes that the price of bird feed has increased from seven shekels ($1.90) to about 80 shekels (just over $22) per kilo.
Regardless of this sharp increase in the cost of keeping a songbird, its popularity appears to have not waned.
“Customers are looking for breeds with calming voices during this difficult time,” Dedar says. “Many of them buy several birds to ensure a variety of melodies throughout the day, since some birds sing better during the day while others prefer the night”
This piece has been published in collaboration with Egab.
