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. On Sunday night, at least 45 Palestinians, including children, were killed at a camp struck by eight Israeli missiles that also triggered a fire in tents full of displaced people.
According to health officials in Gaza, more than half of those killed were women, children, and elderly people, while the number is expected to rise from people with severe burns.
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, including A-listers, have expressed solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, which has faced Israeli onslaught in the last eight months.
Bollywood reacts
Among those who posted the “All Eyes On Rafah,” image were 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.
Actress Alia Bhatt shared a post to her Instagram stories that read, “All children deserve love. All children deserve safety. All children deserve peace. All children deserve life. And all mothers deserve to be able to give their children those things”. She accompanied it with the hashtag, “All Eyes On Rafah”.
Kareena Kapoor Khan shared on Instagram stories a post by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) condemning the attacks.
Priyanka Chopra, a global Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF, and Varun Dhawan and Dia Mirza also posted the “All Eyes On Rafah” template to her story.
Actress Dia Mirza Rekhi also shared the image with a heartbroken emoji.
The viral AI-generated image, shared by millions on Instagram and other social media platforms, shows tents in a camp arranged to form the words “All Eyes on Rafah”. The image has reportedly become one of the most shared ones in the history of Instagram.
Global support
Singer Dua Lipa has also advocated for an immediate ceasefire in the region. She posted an image with the hashtag “#AllEyesOnRafah” on her Instagram Story. It read, “Burning children alive can never be justified. The whole world is mobilising to stop the Israeli genocide, please show your solidarity with Gaza.”
Actor Pedro Pascal posted an image on social media with “All Eyes On Rafah” written on it.
Palestinian Model Bella Hadid, who is a vocal advocate, shared the template in her Instagram stories, accompanying it with multiple slides showing the tragic impact of Israel’s bombings on Gaza and its people.
She also shared a post expressing her deep connection to Palestine, talking about the importance of continuing to showcase Palestinian culture amidst ongoing turmoil. Highlighting a Kiffiyeh dress made by Michael and Hushi in 2001, she celebrated its representation of “the history, labor of love, resilience and, most importantly, the art of historic Palestinian embroidery.” She ended with, “With that being said …. ALL EYES ON RAFAH.”
Australian cricketer Travis Head, British singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock and actresses Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Susan Sarandon were among the international celebs who stood in solidarity with Rafah.
“Tragically wrong”
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.