On May 26, Israeli air forces bombed a tented area in Rafah, Gaza, killing at least 45 people. This attack occurred despite a United Nations order to cease fire, sparking international outrage. The phrase “All Eyes on Rafah” has gained significant attention on social media.
An AI-generated image of Rafah has been shared over 33 million times on Instagram. The image features tents arranged to spell out “All Eyes on Rafah,” drawing attention to the refugee camps in southern Gaza.
Many celebrities such as Samantha, Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Rashmika Mandanna, Dulquer Salmaan, Vijay Verma, and Kriti Kharbanda have condemned Israel’s actions on social media. Even Mahesh Babu’s 11-year-old daughter Sitara shared the post but faced severe criticism. Trolls questioned her understanding of the situation accused her father of not giving her enough pocket money and threatened to boycott his movies if the post wasn’t removed. Eventually, Sitara deleted her post.
There is skepticism on social media about whether some celebrities understand the issue they are posting about. Critics mocked some actresses for appearing to post just to look “woke” or trendy. Some even joked that they might think the hashtag was related to a concert or a Malayalam movie. Ritika Sajdeh, wife of cricketer Rohit Sharma also shared the “All Eyes on Rafah” message but deleted it after receiving heavy backlash and trolling. She was criticized for ignoring domestic issues and ridiculed for not knowing where Rafah was.
Nonetheless, the widespread sharing of the “All Eyes on Rafah” image shows a collective effort to draw attention to the plight of Gaza’s residents amidst ongoing violence.
