More than 44 million Instagram users have shared an AI-generated image with the caption “All eyes on Rafah” as of Thursday morning, according to a count by Instagram.
What Is ‘All Eyes On Rafah?’
The AI-generated image shows a vast desert landscape filled with tents that appear to house refugees, trying to draw a similarity with the area that lies on the southern Gaza Strip which has been a shelter for internally-displaced Palestinians fleeing from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The Israeli military said they are carrying out the operation to free the area of Hamas terrorists and in a video statement said that flammable materials may have caused the deaths. It said that it killed two senior Hamas militants in the strike. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said that the strikes were a ‘tragic mishap’.
The area located near the Egyptian border Rafah has recently been subjected to bombing by Israeli forces. A bombing earlier this week has resulted in the deaths of at least 44 Palestinians and injured 249 others, including women and children. The international community has criticised Israel for the deaths because Rafah was previously a humanitarian zone for civilians.
Which Celebrities Shared It
The slogan “All eyes on Rafah” has also been widely shared in other publications and social networks, especially X, where the hashtag #alleyesonrafah has attracted almost one million hits, according to online monitor Visibrain.
Indian celebrities Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Konkona Sen Sharma, Atlee, Vir Das, Bhumi Pednekar, Dia Mirza, Rakul Preet Singh, Triptii Dimri, and Shilpa Rao, along with Chilean-US actor Pedro Pascal, top models Bella and Gigi Hadid, who are of Palestinian descent, and French football star Ousmane Dembele, have all shared the picture on their social media profiles.
Who Started All Eyes On Rafah Trend?
According to a report by Time magazine, the slogan on the image was likely inspired by Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for Gaza, who previously stated that “all eyes” are on what is happening in Rafah.
The slogan was also seen on placards that students were carrying when universities in US and Europe were protesting against the war in Gaza and demanding a ceasefire and divest from Israel.
The words “All eyes on Rafah” were also found written on a pillar attached to a wall during a pro-Palestinian protest near the perimeter of the 96th Academy Awards.
Gaza War
The deadliest Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the Israeli army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,171 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
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