'All eyes on Rafah' social media trend explained as backlash grows over Israel airstrike

An image urging people to pay attention to Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza is getting shared by millions on social media following a deadly Israeli airstrike killing dozens of civilians.

The picture, which has rows of tents stretching into the distance and is emblazoned with the words “All eyes on Rafah”, has now been posted more than 40 million times on Instagram.

It follows an Israeli strike on the southern Gazan city of Rafah which killed at least 45 people – most of them sheltering in tents which were set alight following the bombing.

Israel said it had targeted two senior Hamas operatives and had not intended to cause civilian casualties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the harm to civilians occurred when “something unfortunately went tragically wrong.”

Global leaders voiced horror at the fire in a designated humanitarian zone of Rafah, where families uprooted by fighting elsewhere had sought shelter.

The International Court of Justice has called on Israel to halt its Rafah offensive and reiterated its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.

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

The slogan is thought to have stemmed from a comment by Rick Peeperkorn, director of the World Health Organization’s Office of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Prior to Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza in February, he said: “All eyes are on Rafah.” It is thought the artwork itself was created using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Matt Navarra, a social media consultant and industry analyst told NBC: “The trend of posting ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ has been something that has been building for a little while.

“We’ve seen quite a lot of influencers and celebrities and widely followed people on multiple platforms, not just Instagram, that are sharing the sentiment of this message or an almost identical version of it, which will amp up the reach and visibility across many platforms.”

Some activists have criticised the sharing of the image rather than pictures or videos of the scene, or more useful resources, such as fundraisers.

Rafah was a major entry point for humanitarian relief before Israel stepped up its military offensive on the Gaza side of the border earlier this month and seized control of the crossing from the Palestinian side.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s health ministry says. Israel launched its air and ground war after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on 7 October, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The International Criminal Court is currently seeking approval for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, including leaders of the Hamas militant group, concerning alleged war crimes.