Source:
The
Washington
Post
/
Getty
In
the
wake
of
Israel’s
recent
airstrikes
in
southern
Gaza,
the
phrase
“All
Eyes
On
Rafah”
has
taken
over
social
media,
with
mixed
support
and
criticism
from
users.
Over
the
past
week,
the
phrase
“All
Eyes
On
Rafah”
has
dominated
social
media
trending
topics.
It
was
spurred
on
by
the
news
of
Israel’s
military
committing
airstrikes
on
the
city
of
Rafah
in
the
southern
Gaza
Strip
near
the
Egyptian
border,
where
millions
of
Palestinians
already
displaced
by
Israel’s
ongoing
conflict
with
the
Hamas
militant
organization
have
fled.
An
AI-generated
image
of
dozens
of
tents
side
by
side
in
a
serene
desert
landscape
with
structures
in
the
center
spelling
out
the
phrase
has
been
circulated
more
than
40
million
times
on
Instagram
alone.
Numerous
celebrities
including
comedian
Hasan
Minhaj
have
also
shared
the
image
through
their
social
media
accounts.
The
origins
of
the
phrase
lie
in
the
comments
made
by
Richard
“Rik”
Peeperkorn,
the
head
of
the
World
Health
Organization’s
offices
in
Gaza
and
the
West
Bank
region
at
a
news
conference
as
the
Israeli
Defense
Forces
began
to
ramp
up
its
strikes
in
southern
Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian
groups
and
activists
began
to
use
“All
Eyes
On
Rafah”
in
their
messaging
in
addition
to
humanitarian
groups
such
as
Oxfam.
The
AI
image
might’ve
gained
such
traction
because
it
isn’t
“massively
dangerous
or
controversial”,
according
to
social
media
consultant
Matt
Navarra
in
an
interview
with
Sky
News.
The
current
wave
comes
after
a
deadly
strike
on
Sunday
(May
26)
hit
an
encampment
of
displaced
Palestinians,
setting
tents
on
fire
and
killing
45
people,
according
to
medics
on
the
ground.
Israel’s
Prime
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu
called
it
a
“tragic
incident”
as
world
leaders
including
the
United
Nations
Secretary-General
Antonio
Guterres
blasted
the
action
in
a
post
on
X,
formerly
Twitter
saying,
“This
horror
must
stop.”
The
“All
Eyes
On
Rafah”
image
has
drawn
criticism
from
some
online,
who
feel
that
more
accurate
and
graphic
images
of
the
violence
and
suffering
of
the
1.4
million
displaced
Palestinians
should
be
shown
to
the
public.
Others
have
felt
that
sharing
the
AI-generated
image
is
engaging
in
“slacktivism”,
conspicuously
showing
support
for
a
cause
but
not
actually
taking
real
steps
to
help.
But
others
see
it
as
useful
to
draw
more
attention
to
the
cries
of
the
Palestinian
people.
We’ve
collected
notable
responses
from
users
on
social
media
to
provide
a
clearer
picture
of
the
issue
below.
