ALL EYES ON RAFAH: Powerful slogan spreads on Instagram but why?

An AI-generated image with the slogan ‘All Eyes on Rafah’, calling for people’s attention to Israel’s ongoing strike on Gaza has drawn millions of shares on Instagram in less than 24 hours, shedding light upon a social media uprising by supporters of Palestinians following a deadly Israeli airstrike.

Image in Detail

The AI image depicts tents in a camp arranged to spell out “All Eyes on Rafah,” an area to the south of Gaza, with refugee tent camps, where officials said at least 45 civilians died after a deadly Israeli strike on Sunday. The image has been shared mainly through the Instagram’s Stories feature. Unsurprisingly, Instagram has recently emerged as an outlet for Palestinian journalists and supporters of Palestinians despite the efforts by its owner, Meta, to censor and limit the spread of political content.

While the AI image has successfully gained coverage, actual footage from Rafah posted by Palestinian journalists has been restricted, even removed from social media for depicting the graphic and heinous aftermath of Israeli strikes. An Instagram spokesperson reported that the company removed the content due to its “violent nature which violated the platform’s policies”.

The ‘All eyes on Rafah’ slogan likely originated from a comment by Rick Peeperkorn, director of the WHO’s Office of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who said in February, “All eyes are on Rafah,” after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered an evacuation plan for the city ahead of planned attacks on what he calls the last of Hamas’ occupations.

The Actual Event

Beginning on Sunday, Israeli forces rapidly advanced on Rafah in both land and air offensives. There were dozens of deaths reported, including those of young children, caused by fires that blazed through the camp. An Israeli official reported that the fire was caused by a fuel tank explosion after one of Israel’s airstrikes hit it. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared to the country’s parliament that the casualties were a “tragic mishap” in Hebrew. Moreover, his office later clarified his statements saying he meant to call it a “tragic accident”. Gaza medics said the strike left hundreds of civilians with shrapnel and burn wounds.

The ICJ Ruling

Israeli forces continued their offensives on the border town of Rafah despite an order last week from the top UN court to halt its operation there. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a ruling last week on Israel’s military offensive in Rafah. It was in a case brought by South Africa, which accuses Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israel has denied the allegation. The court has delivered a series of rulings since the court began. The most crucial concern is whether the court suggests there is an ongoing genocide in Gaza. The ruling including the disputed wording over the military operations in Rafah has also been argued.

A Dilemma

Though there is discourse over whether this simple ‘adding to story’ acts as armchair activism and if posting actual resources rather than an AI-generated image would yield more success, the image shows how activists and journalists can use AI to create content that can communicate the intended message while still abiding by certain platforms’ rules. Netizens argue that the image does not showcase the real state of Rafah, how gruesome and dangerous the living conditions are, but shows a view that is comfortable to the eye. However, others state that the spread of this news alone is enough to get attention to the incident and that itself has led to an increase in donations for the victims.