What is Rafah?
Rafah is located at the southern tip of Gaza, sharing its border with Egypt. The town has increasingly seen a rise in its population since February as Millions of Palestinians move there to seek shelter in the face of war. The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas is now a picture of die humanitarian crisis as people struggle with safe shelter and limited food. Reports suggest that an estimated 1.8 million Palestinians were seeking refuge in Rafah, Gaza, before the genocide began. About half of the population of Palestine was seeking refuge in Rafah, hoping to escape the country through the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
Why is Rafah trending?
On Sunday, the 26th of May, the situation in Rafah worsened when Israeli strikes killed 45 people in a tent camp in Rafah. Sources say that the camp was in one of the safe locations with children, women, and elderly civilians. A man who suffered severe burns said that tents are melting and bodies are melting with them. This inhumane act of the Israeli forces is largely criticized on all social media platforms. The recent air strikes on Rafah have triggered international outrage towards Israeli forces and their indifference towards little children and women being the causalities of the war.
What is the deal with the trending picture of “All Eyes on Rafah”?
An AI-generated picture has been trending across all social media, especially X and Instagram, which has a picture of tents in formation that reads out the phrase “All eyes on Rafah.” If you have scrolled Instagram in the last 24 hours, the post has undoubtedly come across your feed as it has been shared more than 45 million times. Famous celebrities like Alia Bhatt, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas have supported Gaza by sharing the same picture on their social media accounts.
Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 45 people in a camp for displaced Palestinians. Today there are reports of a further 21 killed.
We strongly condemn these horrific attacks, and the catastrophic ground incursion in Rafah.
This war on children must stop.
The UK must… pic.twitter.com/PaVz2bPRIV
— Save the Children UK (@savechildrenuk) May 28, 2024What is the purpose of this viral campaign?
The “All Eyes on Rafah” campaign is a cry for help across all social media platforms. The purpose of the campaign is to make more and more people aware of what is happening with innocent little infants and women in Gaza. The campaign also aims to gather the support of influential personalities so that their sway can help with the current war situation in Gaza and Israel. The ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza has brought nothing but loss of innocent lives in both countries, along with inhumane crimes of war, which needs to be addressed.
Why is the watermelon emoji being used to support Palestine?
Thousands of social media users have been seen using the watermelon emoji in order to clearly state their stance in favor of Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas war. It has been more than three weeks since Israel has been bombing the Gaza Strip. Supporters for Palestine have been increasing by the day, and their voices are getting louder. The supporters of Gaza have been using watermelon emoji to show their support, as the watermelon colours are red, white, black, and green similar to the Palestinian flag.
How is the US and the world reacting to the recent situation in Gaza?
The United States has stated that the current attacks of Israeli forces on Hamas do not yet constitute a significant ground operation that crosses any red lines of the States. They claimed that the attack on shelter tents was “tragic” and have been closely monitoring the situation in Gaza. The US has denied any substantial ground operation of Israeli troops in Rafah as of now. However, the rest of the world has been increasingly showing their support for Rafah, Gaza, and the cause has hit every social media by storm.
