Israel has responded to the viral "All Eyes on Rafah" social media campaign against its weekend air strike on the Gazan city with a question for those who participated: "Where were your eyes on October 7?" The question is framed against a picture depicting an armed Hamas militant standing before an infant who is seated in blood-spattered sand. In the backdrop, an Israeli flag lies burning.
October 7, 2023, is when Hamas terrorists stormed Israeli border communities in a ferocious attack that is estimated to have killed 1,200 people, including hundreds of civilians targeted inside their homes. As many as 240 people were also taken hostage. While many hostages have since been released, a BBC report said last week that 121 remain unaccounted for, with at least 37 presumed dead.
The attack led Israel to declare war on Gaza with the stated aim to eliminate Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza. The war has since claimed thousands of lives in Gaza — the Hamas-run Gazan health ministry pegged the toll at over 36,000 on Tuesday — with Israel refusing to step back until its objective is achieved. Earlier this month, Israel shut down ceasefire negotiations saying it found Hamas' terms unacceptable.
The "All Eyes on Rafah" campaign followed an Israeli airstrike on the border city Sunday night that reportedly killed 45 people, including women and children, at a camp for displaced Gazans. The airstrike is believed to have started a fire at the camp. While Israel has said that two senior Hamas officials were killed in the strike, it has described the fire as a "tragic mishap" and launched an investigation into the civilian deaths.
Even so, as reports of the civilian deaths came out, several celebrities took to social media to join the "All Eyes on Rafah" campaign in a bid to protest against the continuing bloodshed. Most participants of the campaign shared an image that shows tents placed together to form the text, "All Eyes on Rafah".
Israel shared its response on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), saying it will "NEVER stop fighting for the hostages".