Lebanese saxophonist plays through missile strikes, a surreal moment of resilience

BEIRUT, Lebanon (MNTV) — As missiles flew across the sky during Iran’s recent retaliation on Israel, Lebanese saxophonist Alain Otayek offered an unusual and powerful response: he kept playing.

A video of Otayek performing on a rooftop in Lebanon as missiles streaked overhead has gone viral, stirring both astonishment and admiration across social media. 

The footage shows Otayek calmly playing his saxophone while guests at a rooftop gathering look on, some recording the spectacle in disbelief.

In an interview posted on TikTok, Otayek recalled the moment tension replaced the evening’s festive atmosphere. 

“Suddenly, I felt the energy shift. People looked up, phones out. I saw the missiles—I thought aliens were coming,” he joked, before acknowledging he immediately recognized them as weapons of war.

Otayek, unfazed, chose to continue performing. “We’ve grown up around missiles in Lebanon,” he said. “I just felt I needed to express something deeper. Music is how I share peace—it’s what I had to give at that moment.”

His performance has drawn comparisons to the musicians who played as the Titanic sank. Online reactions have ranged from humorous to deeply reflective, with one commenter noting: “Music never dies—especially when it’s sound tracking the end of the world.”