Pro-Palestinian slogan and viral post regarding the Rafah offensive
AI-generated "All Eyes on Rafah" image that went viral onInstagram in May 2024The phrase on a placard at a demonstration inHelsinki, Finland, in February 2024
The phrase derives from a comment made by Richard "Rik" Peeperkorn, theWorld Health Organization's representative forGaza and theWest Bank,[4][5][6] when he told journalists at the UN in February 2024 that "All eyes are on Rafah".[7] This extract from Peeperkorn's broadcast began to be shared when theRafah offensive began in early May, and an AI-generated image of the slogan went viral onInstagram later that month.[7]
The hashtag#alleyesonrafah has been featured in videos viewed millions of times onTikTok,[8] and the slogan has been used internationally at protests.[7]
The phrase "All Eyes on Rafah" references theRafah offensive, an ongoing military operation in and around the city ofRafah, a city near theGaza Strip's border withEgypt. By February 2024, whenIsrael announced the operation, nearly half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million had been pushed into Rafah due to Israeli orders for Palestinians to evacuate there and actions elsewhere in the strip.[9][10] The announcement was condemned by many countries.[11][12][13] About a million Palestinian civilians left Rafah after repeated warnings and following Israeli calls for evacuation prior to the commencement of Israeli military operations. About a million Gazans followed Israeli instructions and evacuated from Rafah.[14]
Viral image
In late May 2024, an AI-generated image depicting the phrase had been shared more than 47 million times in the space of a few days on Instagram,[7] going viral on social media following theTel al-Sultan attack.[11] Users with large followings,[1] including celebrities likeBella Hadid andNicola Coughlan,[15] also participated in the trend. The AI-generated image accompanying the sentence shows an aerial view of a camp set up in orderly rows of tents, with snowy peaks in the background.[16][17] Light-colored tents are arranged to spell out the words "All eyes on Rafah".[11]
The origin of the image is disputed. The image has been attributed to Malaysian photographer Amirul Shah who first posted it to Instagram,[5] but AI hobbyist Zila Abka claims to have posted a square, watermarked version of the same image to Facebook in February, having used AI to generate it herself. She believes that Shah took this image and expanded it to remove her watermark and add a mountain range across the top, before sharing it to Instagram.[18]
Some social media users criticized the trend, comparing it to 2020'sBlackout Tuesday, which some criticized for beingperformative activism orvirtue signaling.[5][20] Other users suggested that the trend was sanitizing ongoing events, and that users should instead post actual images from Rafah.[20]
After severalBollywood celebrities shared the "All Eyes on Rafah" poster on social media, "Boycott Bollywood" started trending onTwitter. Users taking part in the Boycott Bollywood trend asked Indian actors who had shared the image why they did not also speak out about attacks onHindus in other countries, such asPakistan.[21] A pro-Israel response to the image that asked "Where were your eyes on October 7th?" was removed byMeta after having been shared by several hundred thousands.[22]
The phrase and campaign gained renewed criticism in September 2024, after the bodies of six recently-killedIsraeli hostages were found in a tunnel in Rafah at the end of August. LeElle Slifer, cousin ofCarmel Gat, said “The entire world warned Israel to stay out of Rafah. ‘All eyes on Rafah,’ they said, but could no one see the hostages in Rafah? Could no one see our Carmel?”[23]
.jpg)
