From political activists to human rights groups and now Bollywood and Hollywood celebs, the world has united to draw attention to Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip, currently under attack from Israeli forces. The phrase ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ has now flooded social media.
On Instagram alone, an AI-generated image depicting the situation in Rafah has been shared over 33 million times. The image has reportedly become one of the most shared ones in the history of Instagram. The image shows tents in a camp forming the words ‘All Eyes on Rafah’, referring to an area in the southern part of Gaza filled with refugee tent camps.
What does “All Eyes on Rafah” mean?
On May 26 (local time), the Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas launched a rocket attack on the Tel Aviv area in Israel. The incident triggered sirens across the region, urging residents to seek shelter immediately. In response, Israeli forces conducted an airstrike on Rafah, the southernmost part of the Gaza strip, where many Palestinians have sought refuge.
Notably, Rafah shares a border with Egypt. During the airstrike, Israel accidentally struck a tent camp where displaced Palestinians were reportedly living. Media reports have claimed that around 45 people, including children and the elderly, lost their lives, while 200 were injured. However, Israel has denied these claims, stating that they targeted a terrorist shelter away from civilian areas.
The sparking outrage across the world as it came despite an order by the United Nations’ top court asking Israel to “immediately halt” its military offensive.
“All Eyes on Rafah” is a social media trend through which people on the internet, especially influential celebrities, are showing their solidarity with the people of Palestine and also sending a message to the Israeli government that the world is paying attention to the killing of civilians in the Rafah region of Gaza.
The latest strikes triggered global support on social media, with people and celebs sharing an image with the text that read, “All Eyes On Rafah”. Several Indian celebrities have taken to social media to support Palestine through the All Eyes on Rafah campaign, aiming to raise awareness about the crisis in Gaza city. Notable figures, including Bollywood stars and influencers, have posted in solidarity.
The actors, directors, and other film personalities who work in many Indian languages, such as Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Varun Dhawan, Sonam Kapoor, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Dulquer Salmaan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Swara Bhasker, Richa Chadha, Jawan director Atlee, Dia Mirza, Tripti Dimri, Rakul Preet Singh, Bhumi Pednekar, Ileana D’Cruz and Nora Fatehi, took to social media to stand with the people of Palestine who face brutal genocide in Gaza by Israel.
However, not all celebrities were able to maintain their stance. Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika Sajdeh, veteran actress Madhuri Dixit, and others faced immense pressure from the public and ultimately decided to delete their stories.
In response to the growing support for Rafah, pro-Israel accounts have started sharing social media posts, urging those with “eyes on Rafah” to help find the hostages that Hamas has not released since October 7, 2023.
What Israel saying on this?
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said that it was investigating reports claiming that the strike it carried out against commanders of the militant group Hamas in Rafah caused the fire, killing civilians in the region.
Benjamin Netanyahu said, “In Rafah, we already evacuated about 1 million non-combatant residents and despite our utmost effort not to harm non-combatants, something unfortunately went tragically wrong”.
The Opposition leaders repeatedly interrupted the Israeli Prime Minister’s speech to register their disapproval of the government’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
Celebrities showing selecting outrage
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have clarified that they executed a precision strike with a limited amount of explosives at an area 1.7 km away from the civilian zone. They explained that secondary explosions might have occurred because Hamas has a history of storing explosives and munitions in civilian areas, often using civilian compounds as cover.
The social media campaign surrounding “All Eyes on Rafah” has once again revealed how disconnected celebrities are from the ground realities and the bigger picture. Dozens of hostages taken by Hamas after the October 7 massacre have yet to return home. Recently released videos show the brutal rape and torture of young girls by Hamas terrorists, but none of this has sparked concern among these celebrities with millions of followers.
On the other hand, Hamas is an expert in spreading such nefarious propaganda. They are known for creating such stories and they have caught red handed many a times. It is so shocking to see how these celebrities are becoming a tool of this global terror propaganda, and leveraging their popularity to spread this evil and one-sided propaganda.
