TEHRAN- The story of Osprey V does not begin in a studio or on a stage—it begins in the ruins, during blackouts, under the sound of drones, and in the shadows of war. As Gaza’s first and only English-speaking internationally recognized rock band, Osprey V has become both a witness and a voice for a people under siege. Their music, forged through trauma and resilience, now crosses borders as an urgent echo from a place the world has rarely listened to.

Osprey V is more than a band; it is a living testimony of destruction, a chronicle of survival, and a voice rising against what its members describe as a “new Holocaust.” Their journey traces back to 2003, when young cousins Raji and Mo’men first imagined forming a rock band in one of the most oppressed and overlooked places on earth. Gaza had no instruments, no teachers, no stages, no audience—and no peace. Yet the dream refused to die.

By 2010, the cousins were teaching themselves guitar online. Joined by their third cousin Sa’ed, they spent their teenage years practicing in a small room above their family’s electronics shop, often rehearsing through blackouts with broken equipment and bombs echoing in the distance.

In 2015, they officially founded Osprey V.

What the name means

The osprey—a fierce bird of prey—thrives in the harshest terrains: resilient, solitary, and precise. Its ability to rise from devastation mirrors the band’s identity and their struggle for survival. The “V,” representing the number 5 in Latin, signifies the band’s five original members and symbolizes unity, identity, and defiance.