'Where were your eyes on October 7?': Tel Aviv after 'All Eyes on Rafah' goes viral

Israel on Thursday shared an image of Israeli citizens asking the world why they did not talk about the atrocities that unfolded on October 7 last year when Hamas attacked the Middle Eastern country. The poster shared by Tel Aviv showed an armed Hamas militant standing in front of a baby. 

The Benjamin Netanyahu-led government shared the poster on X with the caption, "Where were your eyes on October 7?" The government also said in its post on X that Israel would never stop talking about October 7 and will continue to fight for its hostages. 

Around 1,160 people lost their lives in Israel, mostly civilians, as a result of the October 7 attacks. The Hamas militants also took 250 Israelis as hostages, of which Israel believes 99 are still in militants' hands whereas 31 have died. 

The poster came as a rejoinder to the 'All Eyes on Rafah' poster that went viral on social media platforms like X and Instagram. The poster depicts the packed rows of tents where people are forced to live without any humanitarian aid.

Celebrities all over the world such as Alia Bhatt, Bella Hadid, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Susan Sarandon shared the poster in their Instagram stories. The poster was made to bring into focus the destruction and devastation that unfolded after Israel's airstrikes in Rafah, a city in war-torn Gaza.

At least 45 people, including children, were killed at a refugee camp in Rafah after an air strike by Israel to destroy Hamas. Israel denied targeting the Rafah camp and said the damage was caused by a secondary fire caused by a rocket hitting a Hamas facility.

The 'All Eyes on Rafah' slogan is likely to have originated from a speech by Rick Peeperkorn, director of the World Health Organisation's Office of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In February this year, Peeperkorn made the comment soon after Netanyahu announced an evacuation plan for Rafah ahead of attacks aimed at the 'last remaining strongholds of Hamas.'