<b>Live updates: Follow the latest on </b><a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/03/27/live-israel-gaza-war-hamas/" target="_blank"><b>Israel-Gaza</b></a> The plight of <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/palestine/" target="_blank">Palestinians </a>took centre stage during the opening weekend of the Coachella music festival in California. On Saturday, US Senator <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2024/11/21/senate-rejects-bernie-sanders-bid-to-block-us-arms-sales-to-israel-in-historic-vote/" target="_blank">Bernie Sanders </a>made a surprise appearance to introduce folk singer Clairo and her band. Sanders, a longstanding critic of Israeli policy towards Palestinians, condemned the killing of Palestinian women and children in the ongoing conflict. According to reported figures, more than 50,900 have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war. “I'm here to introduce Clairo not just because they’re a great band,” Sanders said in his address. “I'm here because Clairo has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights and to help end the terrible, brutal war in Gaza, where thousands of women and children are being killed.” <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/music-stage/2025/01/28/green-day-offspring-dubai-concert-review/" target="_blank">Green Day</a> also showed they haven’t lost their political edge, altering part of the lyrics of their song, <i>Jesus of Suburbia,</i> in a show of support for Palestine. Headlining the main stage on Saturday night, the American punk band delivered an explosive set. During the closing passage of the 2004 track, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong sang: “Running away from pain, like the kids from Palestine / Tales from another broken home,” replacing the original line: “Running away from pain when you’ve been victimised.” Meanwhile, Irish band Kneecap reportedly criticised festival organisers for removing their pro-Palestinian message from the YouTube livestream. Performing on Saturday, the hip-hop trio delivered a particularly charged set, describing the killing of Palestinians in the conflict as “genocide". The group later addressed the issue online, assuring fans it would “be sorted” by the time they return to Coachella for their second performance on Saturday. Coachella returns for its second weekend of concerts, running from Friday to Sunday. The line-up includes Lady Gaga and Post Malone, as well as a number of<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/music-stage/2025/04/12/from-mohamed-ramadan-to-elyanna-the-rise-of-arab-artists-at-coachella/" target="_blank"> Arab artists</a>. These include Egyptian actor-turned-pop star Mohamed Ramadan, Moroccan DJ Ahmed Spins and Saudi-Bahraini DJ Nooriyah.
