News

What does 'All Eyes on Rafah' mean?

What does 'All Eyes on Rafah' mean?
Outrage over Israel Rafah airstrike
Fox - 7 Austin / VideoElephant

As the conflict between Israel and Palestine continues, you may have seen people demanding "all eyes on Rafah" - but what does it mean?

Rafah is a city in southern Gaza, and is where many Palestinians have been displaced after ongoing attacks by Israel, after Rafah was previously labelled as a 'safe zone'.

30,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's military onslaught, with 13,800 of those Palestinians being children.

This devastating loss of lives alongside the weekend attack on a Rafah refugee camp, killed more than 45 people, again including children, have led to mass cries to stop the attack on Palestinian people and to the phrase "all eyes on Rafah" gaining momentum.

Aid cannot get into Gaza, and people who need overseas medical treatment cannot leave after Israel closed the crossing.

The phrase calls on people to stay up to date to the attacks against Palestinians, to not look away, and to demand a ceasefire. On Instagram, one particular image (as seen below) has been shared by more than 29 million users including notable names like Nicola Coughlan, Bobbi Althoff, Alison Brie, Leah Williamson, Mary Earps and Julia Fox.

Not only has it been used across social media by millions of users but charities and other organisations are also adopting the phrase.

Save the Children titled a blog post "All Eyes on Rafah" and called for "an immediate and definitive Ceasefire Now and unrestricted humanitarian aid access."

Oxfam posted an infographic to their social media accounts that reads: "All Eyes on Rafah. Where are 1.4 million people supposed to go?" Alongside the hashtag "#CeasefireNOW".

Dr Rick Peeperkorn, director of the World Health Organisation's Office of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said in February: "All eyes are on Rafah. We all watch the news and we all get the stories about this possible incursion and military activities are getting closer."

Sign upto our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

The Conversation (0)
x