On May 26, the Israeli Air Force carried out an airstrike on a tent site in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, killing at least 45 people. The strike came despite a UN Supreme Court order ordering Israel to “immediately cease” military attacks, sparking outrage around the world.
“Watch out for Rafa” has become a common refrain on social media, with Instagram alone featuring AI-generated images of Rafa in action. Rapha The video, which has been shared more than 33 million times, shows tents from the refugee camp forming the words “Pay attention to Rafah,” referring to an area in southern Gaza where refugee tent camps are located.
Many celebrities, including actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Varun Dhawan and Vijay Varma, singer Perrie Edwards and cricketer Travis Head, shared Instagram stories and posts of X with the phrase “All Eyes on Rafah” condemning the Israeli bombing of the designated safe zone in Rafah.
Cricketer Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika Sajdeh initially posted an “All eyes on you” to express solidarity with Rafa. PalestineHowever, she deleted the post after receiving trolls on X. Some criticized her for not addressing India’s issues, while others joked that she didn’t know where Rafa was. The post has now been deleted, according to CNBC.
The phrase “all eyes are on Rafah” comes from comments made in February 2024 by Dr. Rick Pieperkorn, WHO Director for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). As tensions rose in Rafah and more than 1.5 million refugees flooded into the city, Dr. Pieperkorn warned that an Israeli attack on the city would be “an unfathomable catastrophe.” Speaking at a WHO press conference from Rafah, he said, “All eyes are on Rafah.”
According to various reports, Israel has been conducting military operations in Rafah for the past two weeks, claiming that entering and launching an offensive in Rafah is necessary to accomplish its mission of defeating Hamas.
The hashtag #AllEyesOnRafah has garnered more than 195,000 posts and millions of views on TikTok, and was trending on Instagram on Tuesday, with nearly 100,000 posts.
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First uploaded: 29 May 2024 11:57 IST
