A boy¡¯s lilting song filled the tent in Gaza City, above an instrumental melody and backing singers¡¯ quiet harmonies, soft music that floated into streets these days more attuned to the deadly beat of bombs and bullets.

The young students were taking part in a lesson given on Aug. 4 by teachers from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, who have continued classes from displacement camps and shattered buildings even after Israel¡¯s bombardments forced them to abandon the school¡¯s main building in the city.

¡°When I play I feel like I¡¯m flying away,¡± said Rifan al-Qassas, 15, who started learning the oud, an Arab lute, when she was 9. She hopes to one day play abroad.