Israel's contestant at the Eurovision Song Contest, Nova Festival survivor, Yuval Raphael, recounted how she saw friends in the audience who hid with her from Hamas terrorists in a shelter on October 7, after her successful semi-final performance on Thursday evening.
Israel's public broadcaster, KAN, released three videos of Raphael's celebrations. In the first, she is seen embracing a member of her delegation, in another, she is greeted by the cheering delegation, and in the third, she recounts how she spotted her fellow survivors enjoying her performance from the audience.
In another video, filmed by the song's creator, Keren Peles, Raphael stated that "I looked to the side and said hello to the audience, and I spotted my friends from the shelter. Suddenly, I saw my best friend way up high, and somehow I recognized them. It gave me so much strength.”
While some audience members waved Palestinian flags and booed as she performed – as they did earlier Thursday at Raphael’s final rehearsal – the 24-year-old singer was not rattled, and many in the auditorium cheered.
At the end of the song, she said, “Thank you, Europe! I love you! Merci, toda.”
Competing in Eurovision is a huge personal goal
Before taking the stage, she gave an interview to Keshet 12 and emphasized that competing in Eurovision was a huge personal goal. “It's a crazy feeling to be here. From a personal perspective, it feels like a huge victory. Like a huge win to fulfil my dream, which has always been there," Raphael said.
On October 7, Raphael hid in a bomb shelter where nearly 40 people were killed after terrorists threw in grenades and fired into the crowd. She was one of 11 who made it out and has spoken of her ordeal in interviews, including recently with the BBC.
Hannah Brown contributed to this report