As the ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ online movement gained pace, A-list Bollywood celebrities like Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kappoor and Varun Dhawan have extended support to Palestinians, days after Israel’s attack on Rafah in Gaza led to civilians deaths. The latest attacks resulted in killings of families including small children who were taking shelter in temporary camps in Rafah evacuation area.
Alia Bhatt took to Instagram and reshared a post which read, “All children deserve love. All children deserve safety. All children deserve peace. All children deserve life. And all mothers deserve to be able to give their children those things (red heart doodle).” Alia wrote in the caption, “#AllEyesOnRafah.”
Alia and her actor-husband Ranbir Kapoor had their daughter Raha in November 2022.
Following in Alia’s footsteps, Kareena Kapoor too posted on Instagram and re-shared a post by the official Instagram handle of UNICEF, in which Executive Director Catherine Russell condemned the killing of children and families in Rafah, calling the act “unconscionable.”
Actor Varun Dhawan also took to his Instagram stories to share the “All Eyes on Rafah” image which has been doing the rounds on social media in protest against Israel’s attack.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu also shared posts on the latest attack on Rafah and wrote, “This (Latest attack on Rafah) comes after the ICJ (International Court of Justice) ruled on Friday for Israel to ‘immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah. There are no words for this horror. There is nowhere safe to go. It must stop. Ceasefire now.”
Fatima Sana Shaikh also wrote, “Came across a really disturbing video of beheaded children in Rafah. One cannot just ignore this anymore. When will this end!”
Radhika Apte re-shared a series on videos and posts about the attack, saying, “We are running out of words. The videos out of Rafah are beyond horrific. Traumatising. More traumatising than we have collectively witnessed thus far.”
Others too joined in their support for Palestine from India including Triptii Dimri, Dia Mirza, Gauahar Khan and Swara Bhasker.
Israel attacked the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Tuesday. The constant airstrikes killed at least 37 people in recent days. The attacks reportedly targeted people taking shelter in tents in the area that Israel had at the start of the war called a “safe zone”. Israel launched its first attack on Rafah on May 6. Most people in Rafah have already been displaced multiple times in the eight-month war between Israel and Hamas. The recent attacks on Rafah have led to a huge public outcry.
The conflict has resulted in over 36,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel is aiming to dismantle the Hamas hideouts in Rafah and rescue hostages believed to be held in the area.
Israel’s offensive began following an October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and resulted in over 250 hostages being taken. (Agencies)
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