Rafah: At least 45 people, including children, were killed at a refugee camp in Gaza’s Rafah after an Israeli air strike. The incident, coming just days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its operation in Rafah, triggered international outrage, deepening the global isolation facing Israel over the war in Gaza.
‘All eyes on Rafah’ is a phrase that refers to the ongoing genocide in this Gaza city. The phrase is trending on social media as global support poured in for the Palestinians affected by the Israeli strikes.
Several celebrities have shared support messages with the hashtag #AllEyesOnRafah. The phrase has picked up steam as a call for awareness of the ongoing war.
Rafah was a major entry point for humanitarian aid before Israel stepped up its military offensive on the Gaza side of the border earlier this month and seized control of the crossing.
Israel launched the attack on Rafah late Sunday, hours after Hamas unleashed a barrage of rockets at the Tel Aviv area, most of which were intercepted.
Israeli forces pressed their assault on the border town – once seen as the territory’s last refuge – despite an order last week from the top UN court to halt its operation there.
Fighting in Rafah has caused more than 1 million Palestinians to flee, most of whom had already been displaced in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Palestinians say they are vulnerable to Israeli attacks wherever they go and have been moving up and down the Gaza Strip in the past few months.
When Israeli forces told those in the north to evacuate, before conducting operations in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Yunis, hundreds of thousands had fled south to Rafah.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said in a statement that Israeli shelling in and around health facilities in Rafah has left just one still operational.
The attack triggered global outrage against Israel. A US National Security Council spokesperson said Israel “must take every precaution possible to protect civilians”.
Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron posted on X, “Deeply distressing scenes following the airstrikes in Rafah this weekend…We urgently need a deal to get hostages out & aid in, with a pause in fighting to allow work towards a long-term sustainable ceasefire.”
Egypt condemned the “targeting of defenceless civilians”, calling it part of “a systematic policy aimed at widening the scope of death and destruction in the Gaza Strip to make it uninhabitable”.
Jordan accused Israel of “ongoing war crimes”, Saudi Arabia condemned “the continued massacres”, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed “to hold these barbarians and murderers accountable”.
Qatar condemned a “dangerous violation of international law” and voiced “concern that the bombing will complicate ongoing mediation efforts” towards a truce.
‘All eyes on Rafah’ massively trended on social media, with many comming out in support of Palestinians in the Gazan city. Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu took to Instagram stories to share a post on Israel-Palestine conflict. She reshared posts that called out Israel’s attack on Rafah. Actor Dia Mirza, Swara Bhaskar, Gauahar Khan were among others who reshared series of posts about the Rafah attack.
Spain and Norway have officially recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday, May 28, with an aim to bring peace between Palestinians and Israelis and find a resolution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in Gaza. Ireland has also said it will officially recognise a Palestinian state on May 28.
The Guardian quoted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as saying, “The state of Palestine must be viable with the West Bank and Gaza connected by a corridor and with East Jerusalem as its capital, and it must be unified under the legitimate government of the Palestinian national authority.”
Israel repeatedly condemned the move by the three European countries, saying that it bolsters the Palestinian militant group Hamas. In a series of tweets, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, accused Spain of giving in to Hamas.
All Eyes On Rafah- Global condemnation of deadly Israeli strike on Rafah mounts
