This Is How the All Eyes on Rafah Campaign Swept the World

A few days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israeli Occupation to end its military offensive in Rafah, an Israeli raid on May 26 set fire to a camp crowded with displaced people in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, killing at least 45 people, according to Palestinian officials, sparking global outrage and condemnation.

The incident has further reinforced support for Palestinians on social media with the slogan ‘All eyes on Rafah’ being widely shared by celebrities such as Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul and Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan.

The slogan has been used over the past two days on social media by millions of users, especially on Instagram, to denounce the Israeli bombing of the tents of displaced people in Rafah.

The campaign ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ highlights the difficult conditions that residents face due to the ongoing conflict and stresses the necessity of a ceasefire as soon as possible.

“Israel” launched a ground attack on Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinian civilians are located, at the beginning of May, while the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that about a million civilians were displaced from the city after Israeli orders to evacuate.

The White House confirmed that Washington believes that any major Israeli ground attack on Rafah is unjustified.

In response to a question about the number of charred bodies that might prompt President Biden to change his course, White House spokesman John Kirby said in a statement to reporters, “This is not something we have turned a blind eye to.” 

But he stressed that there was no change in policy after the strike that targeted a camp for displaced people in Rafah.

All Eyes on Rafah

An image generated by artificial intelligence (AI), bearing the phrase ‘All Eyes on Rafah,’ and documenting part of the difficult humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, was admired by tens of millions around the world within a few hours, according to a report by NBC News.

The image shows a huge gathering of tents in the devastated Palestinian Strip, with the phrase ‘All eyes on Rafah’ written in the middle.

The image, which was posted on Instagram this week, attracted more than 45 million shares in less than 48 hours.

Activists say that the campaign aims to pressure “Israel” to stop its war on Gaza, as well as to mobilize world public opinion and push it towards practicing the tools of peaceful resistance that reject the violations of the Israeli army.

Through their accounts on more than one platform, celebrities published a unified image of the campaign, which was very popular, amid international pressure calling on the Israeli Occupation to cease fire, especially in light of the high number of civilian casualties.

Football and art stars have millions of followers around the world, which gives them great moral influence on such issues and the ability to direct public opinion towards the tragedies suffered by the besieged residents of Gaza.

The widespread use of the campaign came despite the efforts made by Meta, the company that owns Instagram, to limit the spread of political content related to the war in Gaza due to the violent nature of many posts that violate its policy, according to the Meta spokesman.

Two of three Instagram posts showing burned bodies, serious injuries, and scattered body parts were recently removed after the recent raid on a tent camp in Rafah.

In this context, consultant and social media expert, Matt Navarra, considered that there is an increasing trend towards publishing images such as (All Eyes on Rafah), as they do not contain any violence and contribute to conveying certain messages.

Meta, which also owns Facebook, recently opened discussion sessions on its oversight policy board to find out whether popular pro-Palestinian rhetoric such as ‘From the River to the Sea’ constitutes violations of its policy.

Navarra said the image highlights how activists can use AI to create content that can communicate messages while abiding by the platforms’ rules.

“It’s possibly circumventing some of the automated moderation on the platform, because it’s an AI-generated image and there isn’t anything in there that is massively dangerous or controversial,” he added. 

Widespread Solidarity

It is noteworthy that the campaign slogan (All Eyes on Rafah) originated from a comment by Rik Peeperkorn, director of the World Health Organization’s Office of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who said this phrase days after Israeli Occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the development of an evacuation plan for the city before the attack on it began.

According to Forbes, this phrase is intended to ask the international community and human rights organizations not to look away from what is happening in the city of Rafah.

Up to 1.4 million people live in Rafah, who moved there to flee violent fighting elsewhere in Gaza, as the Israeli occupation continues its brutal aggression against civilians there.

According to Forbes, organizations and lobbying groups like Save the Children, Oxfam, Americans for Justice in Palestine Action, Jewish Voice for Peace and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign then repeated the slogan. 

It has been used as a rallying cry at protests in Paris, London, the Netherlands, New York City, Los Angeles, and beyond.

A number of celebrities in India, including actors Varun Dhawan, Aly Goni, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Triptii Dimri, posted identical ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ graphics to their Instagram stories. 

Other celebrities who have spoken out include Gigi and Bella Hadid, Nicola Coughlan from Bridgerton, Mark Ruffalo, Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, British singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Grey’s Anatomy actor Giacomo Gianniotti, Australian cricket player Travis Head, Rosie O'Donnell, actresses Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Susan Sarandon

Forbes confirms that there are more than 195,000 posts with millions of views of the hashtag #AllEyesOnRafah on TikTok, while the topic has been trending on Instagram over the past two days.

The most popular videos on TikTok have come from Palestinian American pop singer Zach Matari, whose posts with the slogan have racked up millions of views this month.

Many football stars also sympathized with the victims of the Palestinian city of Rafah, led by Englishman David Beckham, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid player.

The England national team legend supported Palestine in a wonderful Instagram story in which he said: “The pictures of children and burned families emerging from the tents leading to the bombing in Rafah shock us all.”

“There must be an immediate ceasefire and an end to the unjustified killing of children,” he added.

Portuguese star Rafael Leao, a player for the Italian team Milan, posted on his personal Instagram account a picture that read: “All eyes on Rafah.”

Spain's Aitana Bonmati, a player for the Spanish women's team Barcelona, who won the World Player of the Year award, also supported the Palestinian cause.

French player Paul Pogba wrote on his Instagram account: “Please wake up. Let’s do something about this. Imagine your child crying and his body shaking like this.”

French player Ibrahima Konate, Liverpool’s English defender, posted a picture with the caption: “All eyes on Rafah.”

French player William Saliba, Arsenal's English defender, Algerian player Riyad Mahrez, French player Ousmane Dembele, Paris Saint-Germain’s winger, Senegalese Nicholas Jackson's Chelsea duties, and Egyptian Mohamed Elneny, Arsenal's midfield, also posted the same image.

The campaign reached the wives of players, including the wife of the famous Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma, as she published the campaign slogan on her Instagram page. As did Samantha Star, and others.

Leaders around the world, including President Joe Biden, have criticized Israel for pursuing attacks in Rafah due to the more than 1 million civilians currently living there. 

The International Criminal Court confirmed last week that it is seeking arrest warrants for both Hamas and Israeli officials—including Netanyahu—for alleged war crimes, but the court has no way to enforce its own warrants even after they are issued.