Several actors like Dulquer Salman, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Tovino Thomas, Keerthy Suresh, Madhuri Dixit, Varun Dhawan, Vijay Verma, and others shared a post on Instagram with the phrase ‘All eyes on Rafah’ condemning Israel’s bombing in Rafah, a designated safe-zone.
On May 26, Israeli air forces launched a deadly airstrike at a tented area killing at least 45 persons and injuring more than 300.
In instagram alone, the AI-generated image has been shared more than 33 million times in instagram stories. The image depicts the situation at Rafah, where the tents for displaced people are surrounded by Israeli tanks and military forces. The phrase ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ stems from a comment made by Director of WHO’s Office of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) Dr Rick Peeperkorn in February 2024. While tension was mounting in Rafah in February and more than 1.5 million refugees moved into the city, Dr Peeperkorn said that it would be an “unfathomable catastrophe” if an Israeli attack takes place there. During a WHO press briefing from Rafah, he said, “All Eyes are on Rafah”.
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees, around one million people have fled to Rafah just in the past three weeks. The people were forced to flee to Rafah by Israel, who declared that Rafah was a designated safe zone in the southern part of the Gaza strip. “This happened with nowhere safe to go & amidst bombardments, lack of food & water, piles of waste & unsuitable living conditions”.
The UNRWA also said that Gaza became “hell on earth” and that there was “no such thing as a safe place in the Gaza Strip.” “No one is safe: not civilians, not aid workers, no one has been spared. We need a #CeasefireNow.”
Meanwhile, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the airstrike a “tragic mistake”. “Despite our utmost efforts not to harm innocent civilians, last night there was a tragic mistake. We are investigating the incident and will obtain a conclusion because this is our policy," Netanyahu had said to Israel's parliament.
According to multiple reports, Israel has been launching an attack on Rafah for the past two weeks. The state had claimed that it should venture into Rafah and launch an attack to complete its mission of defeating Hamas. On May 24, the ICJ ordered that Israel must stop its offensive operations in Rafah. Despite the court ruling, Israel continued its attack in Rafah killing more than 60 people since May 25.
The Gaza Government Media Office had stated that Israel dropped seven 900 kg bombs and missiles on the displacement camp. The Israeli army, however, claimed that it targeted Rafah with “precision munitions” but a nearby fuel tank led to the subsequent fire that killed the civilians. It is to be noted that the Israeli military force did not warn the civilians to evacuate the area before the attack.
As of May 28, Israeli tanks were spotted at the centre of Rafah - in Yibna and Shaboura refugee camps - and Israeli aircrafts were bombing the city while there was an attack on the homes in the centre of the city with heavy machine guns.