"Where were your eyes on...": Israel's counter to the "All eyes on Rafah" viral image

Many people are sharing this viral picture with "All eyes on Rafah" written on it to condemn Israel's attack. Screengrab: Instagram

In the wake of the viral "All Eyes on Rafah" campaign, supported by celebrities, sportspersons, and millions of other social media users across the globe, Israel has attempted to shift the narrative, using a provocative photo of a Hamas fighter standing in front of a baby with blood on the ground, asking "Where were your eyes on October 7".

This comes after a series of deadly strikes and raids by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) in IDF declared safe zones, which has led to the brutal deaths of at least 45 civilians, including children, says NDTV.

The incident has triggered international outrage, deepening the global isolation facing Israel over the war in Gaza.

Israel, though in response, has shared an image of its own asking people why they did not post about the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians. The fighterss also seized about 250 hostages, dozens of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes that 99 hostages still in fighters' hands remain alive and 31 have died.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign to destroy Hamas has killed at least 31,112 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Amid widespread condemnation, Israel also denied targeting the Rafah camp and said that the damage was caused by a secondary fire caused by a rocket hitting a Hamas weapons facility.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government shared a picture with the text "Where were your eyes on October 7". The image depicts a Hamas fighter standing in front of a baby.

The response came hours after the 'All Eyes On Rafah' went viral with nearly 45 million users sharing it on Instagram. The image depicts densely packed rows of tents stretching endlessly across a desert landscape overshadowed by mountains, alluding to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled there during Israel's military campaign against Hamas.

Some of the Indian celebrities who posted the "All Eyes On Rafah," image were Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Varun Dhawan, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.