Raphael was attending the Nova Sukkot Gathering music festival inRe'im on7 October 2023, whenHamas militantsattacked the festival. She hid inside aDeath Shelter near kibbutzBe'eri with 50 other people, while sustaining shrapnel injuries from grenades thrown into the shelter. Raphael was one of 11 survivors, having hid under dead bodies for eight hours.[7][8][9] In a speech before theUnited Nations Human Rights Council, she described what she witnessed during the attack.[10][11]
Music career
On 19 November 2024, Raphael's audition for the eleventh season ofHaKokhav HaBa, which served as the Israeli artist selection for theEurovision Song Contest 2025, aired, where she performed"Anyone" and advanced to the next round with a score of 98%. She eventually progressed to the final on 22 January 2025, where she performed "Dancing Queen" and "Writing's on the Wall".[12] She dedicated her performance of the former to those killed by the Nova attack. She ranked first and was chosen to represent Israel at Eurovision,[12] succeedingEden Golan, whose appearance onthe previous edition had attracted controversy as a result of her country's involvement in theGaza war.[7] At the time of her announcement, she was living in Ra'anana.[13]
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