Legendary Arab singer Fairuz, whose ballads have told of love, her native Lebanon and the Palestinian cause, turned 90 on Thursday as her conflict-weary country is wracked by the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Social media users lit up the internet with her songs and tributes to the Lebanese star, who has seldom been seen in public in recent years but remains a rare symbol of national unity in the crisis-hit country.
In one for her most well-known songs, which came out during Lebanon’s civil war, Fairuz crooned: “I love you, oh Lebanon, my country, I love you.”