Rafah Instagram Snapshot Goes Viral, Garnering 44 Million Shares

An AI-created image captioned “All eyes on Rafah” has gone viral on Instagram, amassing over 44 million shares since Monday after a lethal Israeli attack on a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza.

The image portrays an expansive desert scene filled with numerous rows of tents, representing the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who sought shelter there during Israel’s military campaign against Hamas.

In the meantime, celebrities like Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal models Bella and Gigi Hadid, who have Palestinian heritage, and French soccer star Ousmane Dembele have posted the image on their Instagram profiles.

Indian celebrities such as Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Konkona Sen Sharma, Atlee, Vir Das, Dia Mirza, Triptii Dimri, Shilpa Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, and Rakul Preet Singh have also shared the image on their social media accounts.

Furthermore, the phrase “All eyes on Rafah” has seen substantial engagement on other social media platforms, especially X (previously known as Twitter). According to online monitor Visibrain, the hashtag #alleyesonrafah has accumulated nearly one million mentions. Additionally, X has recorded 27.5 million posts in just three days concerning the attack on the southern Gazan city near the Egyptian border, which has caused widespread international outcry.

An Israeli strike on the camp on Sunday ignited a fire, resulting in 45 fatalities and 249 injuries, according to the health ministry run by Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli military reported that the strike targeted and eliminated two senior Hamas militants. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident as a “tragic accident” and stated that his government was conducting an investigation.

The Israel-Hamas conflict was ignited by a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, leading to the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, and the capture of 252 hostages, of whom 121 remain in Gaza. According to the Israeli army, 37 of these hostages have died.

In retaliation, Israel’s offensive has resulted in the deaths of at least 36,171 people in Gaza, predominantly civilians, according to the health ministry administered by Hamas.