Cairo- As pressure on Israel grows over its military assault on the southern Gazan town of Rafah, an image with the words All Eyes on Rafah has gone viral on social media.
The image, which according to Al-Jazeera is AI-generated, was reportedly shared more than 37 million times on Instagram in less than 24 hours, along with the hashtag #AllEyesOnRafah.
It depicts tents in a camp across a vast plain with tents in the center spelling out “All Eyes on Rafah”.
It has been shared largely through Instagram’s Stories feature with celebrities and others of influence also posting the image.
Horrific Airstrike
On Sunday night, at least 50 Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a camp for the displaced in Rafah. The horrific attack caused a fire that spread rapidly through the camp. Footage showed charred bodies, as well as a man holding a beheaded baby as screams were heard all around him.
Israeli forces intensified its attacks on Gaza despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday which ordered Israel to immediately halt its ground invasion of Rafah.
On Tuesday, at least 20 people were killed and many others wounded in another massacre carried out by the Israeli occupation army, which bombed a camp for displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area of Rafah.
Rafah housed more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians before the ground invasion began on May 6. Many had fled their homes in areas across the besieged enclave which was attacked by Israeli forces.
One Million Flee
According to the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), nearly one million Palestinians have fled Rafah in the past three weeks.
“This happened with nowhere safe to go & amidst bombardments, lack of food & water, piles of waste & unsuitable living conditions,” UNRWA said on X on Tuesday.
The UN agency added, “Day after day, providing assistance & protection becomes nearly impossible.”
While the All Eyes on Rafah image has spread quickly, NBC News reported, video footage from Rafah “posted by Palestinian journalists has been restricted and in some cases removed from social media for depicting the graphic aftermath of Israeli strikes.”
“An Instagram spokesperson said the company removed the content due to its violent and graphic nature, which it said violated the platform’s policies,” according to the report.
Over 36,000 Killed
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 36,171 Palestinians have been killed, and 81,420 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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