If you’ve been on your socials in the past 48 hours, you’ve probably seen scores of people share a viral, AI-generated image of an arial view of a refugee camp with tents arranged to spell out ‘ALL EYES ON RAFAH’.
The image has been shared over 40 millions times on Instagram, drawing attention to and condemnation of Israel’s latest strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which have killed at least 66 people since Sunday.
The viral image
The slogan “All Eyes on Rafah” is believed to have originated from comments made by Richard “Rik” Peeperkorn, World Health Organization’s representative for Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, who said in February that “all eyes” were on Israel’s impending Rafah offensive as their military intensified its campaign in the southern Gaza strip.
Since then, the phrase been used across social media, in protests and public discourse surrounding the war in Gaza.
The image was shared by several high-profile figures, including model Bella Hadid (who is half-Palestinian), British singer Dua Lipa, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Bridgerton actor, Nicola Coughlan. The image quickly became viral, bypassing keyword or text-based censorship as an AI-generated image, as one expert noted. It’s also sparked controversy for obscuring the graphic realities of war, which include dead bodies, severed limbs, blood and violence. The viral image is clearly fake, appearing almost cartoon-like and masking the horrifying realities of the apocalyptic-scenes on the ground.
The image has also sparked debate about performative activism. According to Dr Ameera Kawash, a UK-based Palestinian-Iraqi-American researcher, the image undermines Palestinian testimony and lived experience.
“This AI-generated image has caused controversy because Palestinians have for decades asked the world to see them and believe them,” she told Al Jazeera. “With so many Palestinian citizen journalists in Gaza risking their lives to document their realities on the ground, the AI-generated image can seem like another form of digital erasure.”
“The messaging [of the image] should include calls for an immediate ceasefire, yet that has not worked so far, so it should also include demands for governments to sanction Israel now.”
What’s happened in Rafah?
In the early hours of Sunday, the Israeli military bombed the city of Al-Mawasi, a coastal area in southern Gaza, killing at least 45 people and wounding 250. Israel has previously designated the encampment a humanitarian safe zone and did not warn the thousands of civilians before the attack.
For weeks, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced relocate to the so called “safe-zone” of Al-Mawasi, after Israel issued a warning for them to leave Rafah, where its army have seized strategically important land overlooking the nearby border with Egypt.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was “a tragic mistake.”
“Despite our best effort not to harm those not involved, unfortunately a tragic error happened last night,” he said. “We are investigating the case.”
Less than 48 hours later, the IDF conducted another airstrike on a displacement camp west of Rafah, killing 21 people, including 13 women and children.
Leaders respond
World leaders condemned the attacks, calling for an investigation into the airstrike and for a ceasefire.
U.N. secretary general, António Guterres criticised Israel’s actions on X, writing: “I condemn Israel’s actions which killed scores of innocent civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict. There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop.”
Executive director of UNICEF, Catherine Russell said called for an “immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and an end to the senseless killing of children.”
“Images of burned children & families emerging from bombed tents in #Rafah shocks us all,” she wrote on X. “The reported killing of children sheltering in makeshift tents is unconscionable. For over 7 months, we’ve witnessed this tragedy unfold, resulting in thousands of children killed or injured.”
Days earlier, President Emmanuel Macron of France condemned the Sunday attacks, saying he was “outraged” and calling “for full respect for international law and an immediate cease-fire.”
“These operations must stop,” he said. “There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians.”
The latest attacks occurred just days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to halt its offensive on Rafah. Unfortunately, the court, based in The Hague, has minimal power to enforce its order — it also didn’t order a ceasefire in Gaza.
On Wednesday morning, after Israeli tanks were seen entering the city of Rafah, fresh Israeli airstrikes were reported across various parts of the city.
The previous evening, an emergency UN Security Council session was held between the 15-member UN security body on Gaza with the aim to present a draft resolution calling for an end to Israel’s airstrikes n Rafah and to “stop the killings.”
Palestinian deputy ambassador, Majed Bamya told the council meeting that accepting the resolution would be an critical step “to force Israel to halt its military offensive and to withdraw its occupation forces, and to ensure an immediate cease-fire.”
Overnight, the US said the proposed resolutions “is not going to be helpful.” US deputy ambassador Robert Wood spoke to reporters ahead of the next round of meetings that “another resolution is not necessarily going to change anything on the ground.”
Food and shelter
Hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Gaza continue to struggle with a scarcity of food and basic amenities. In the past few weeks, close to one million people have reportedly left Rafah as the Israeli airstrikes continue to kill civilians.
In a statement, Save the Children’s Country Director in the occupied Palestinian Territory, Xavier Joubert said that those who haven’t yet been hit by explosive weapons fired directly into civilian areas are “suffering the slow, agonising effects of starvation.”
“Children’s mental and physical health is being pushed beyond breaking point, as they suffer unimaginable mental harm from the violence, serious physical injuries, including the loss of body parts, and the loss of families, homes, and their schools,” he said.
Humanitarian and aid workers report vital entry points into parts of Gaza remain closed, heightening the threat of widespread starvation.
Aid organisations report a dire fuel scarcity, which would restrict their ability to deliver medical supplies and other basic amenities. According to Scott Anderson, a senior official at UNRWA, at least 200,000 litres of fuel are needed daily, but only a quarter of that amount arrives each day since the closure of Rafah crossing.
Before Israeli commenced it attack on Rafah in early May, the UN received an average of 189 trucks per day. Last week, the UN reported only that 906 truckloads had entered the 2.3 million populated Gaza Strip between May 7 and May 23 (averaging 55 per day)— escalating fears of widespread famine.
Since October 7, Israel has killed at least 36,171 people in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Meanwhile, around 100 Israeli hostages remain captive in Gaza. Last week, families of five young female hostages released shocking footage of the capture of their daughters taken by Hamas captors.