On 26th May, 45 Palestinians taking shelter in Rafah were killed in an air strike initiated by Israel to kill Hamas operatives. A tent where refugees were taking shelter was destroyed in the air strike. The elderly and children were also killed in the strike. Within hours, Israel acknowledged the mistake leading to the deaths of 45 refugees and initiated an investigation into the matter.
Campaigns ran online and offline against Israel calling it a genocidal nation. However, no one talked about the context of the air strikes that have been happening since 7th October 2023, the day on which Hamas terrorists entered Israel and killed over 1,300 people. Incidents of rape and sexual violence against women as well as corpses were reported in a UN report.
In a report released by the United Nations, it was revealed how harrowing were the cases of sexual violence done by terrorists of Hamas and its associated groups on 7th October 2023 when they attacked Israel. The UN mission conducted research from 29th January to 14th February 2024 and documented a series of atrocities committed against women from Israel and foreign nationals who came under attack. It shed light on the brutality and atrocities faced by the victims.
Context of the attack
On the morning of 7th October 2023, Hamas terrorists launched a rocket attack on Israel and used it as a shield to barge into Israeli territory along with other armed terrorist organisations including Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees. They breached the Gaza perimeter fence and launched a coordinated attack on civilians as well as military targets. The attack resulted in the death of over 1,300 people including women, the elderly, and children. Thousands were reported injured and hundreds were taken hostage by Hamas. The hostages were transported to Gaza.
Findings on sexual violence
The United Nation’s mission found that there was a pattern of extreme sexual violence including rape, gang rape and mutilation of corpses. The report indicated there were at least three locations where such heinous acts were witnessed by the victim.
Nova Music Festival and surrounding areas
There were around 3,500 attendees from Israel and other countries at the Nova Music Festival. As it was near the Gaza perimeter fence, it became the site of mass murder and sexual violence. According to the eyewitnesses and credible information gathered by the UN mission, there were multiple incidents of rape and gang rape. In several cases, the victims were murderers. Some of the most disturbing reports included instances where the corpses of women were raped by the terrorists. Several bodies were left naked from the waist down, tied and shot in the head revealing a systematic pattern of sexual violence.
Road 232 and escape routes became centres of sexual violence
The attendees of the Nova festivals and residents of the surrounding areas took Road 232 as their escape route. However, they faced unimaginable horrors while trying to save themselves. There were bodies found with severe injuries, including genital mutilation and extensive burn damage across the route. Witnesses reported that there were incidents of rape with those who tried to escape from Road 232. The mission team found a pattern of bodies that were partially or fully naked, suggesting there were incidents of sexual violence.
Kibbutzim Re’im, Be’eri, and Kfar Aza
Similar atrocities were reported in the kibbutzim of Re’im, Be’eri, and Kfar Aza. In Kibbutz Re’im. According to reports, a woman was raped outside a bomb shelter. In Kibbutz Be’eri and Kfar Aza, the agencies found dead bodies of women who were naked, tied and shot, which indicated possible sexual violence.
Nahal Oz Military Base and hostages were taken to Gaza
The Nahal Oz military base became a hub for signals intelligence and saw significant casualties and abductions. There were reports of rape and genital mutilation at the base. Some reports suggest that the reports could not be verified, however, the pattern of injuries pointed there were possible cases of sexual violence. The mission team found clear and convincing evidence that hostages taken to Gaza were subjected to rape, sexualized torture, and other forms of inhumane treatment. The mission also believes that the atrocities are still ongoing against the hostages that are yet to be freed.
The UN report painted a grim picture of the atrocities committed by Hamas and its associated terrorist organisations against the women from Israel and other nations during the 7th October attack. The documented cases of sexual violence, rape of corpses, and degradation of dead bodies highlight there is an urgent need for accountability and justice for the victims. It was Hamas’s actions that resulted in the wrath of Israel on Gaza. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the alleged victims of Israel’s strikes on Gaza are collateral damage to Israel’s determination to rub off the name of Hamas from the face of the earth.
All Eyes on Rafah campaign – one-sided propaganda whitewashing Hamas’s crimes
On 28th May, several celebrities from India shared stories on Rafah. An AI-generated image with the text “All Eyes On Rafah” was shared on the social media platform Instagram over 33 million times. Here are some of the celebrities who shared the image or a similar story.
Actors and actresses including Malaika Arora Khan, Zareen Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Kriti Kharbanda, Nora Fatehi, DQ Salmaan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, tripti Dimri, Rakul Preet, Rahul Dua, Varun Dhawan, Nitanshi Goel, Urfi Javed, Swara Bhaskar and Ahsaas Channa were among those who shared the same story on social media. On the other hand, Huma Qureshi and Kareena Kapoor shared a post published by UNICEF calling for a ceasefire in the region. Here are screenshots of the stories published by these celebrities.
What happened in Rafah? IDF says civilian casualties may be result of Hamas explosive warehouse inside civilian area
Rafah is the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip. It shares a border with Egypt and the Rafah crossing is presently the only way Gaza residents can leave the area. However, Egypt only allows humanitarian aid inside. Egypt has refused all requests for evacuation and does not allow Palestinians to enter their nation.
At least that was what the world thought, because, recently Israel’s military operations in Rafah exposed several tunnels extending from Rafah to Egypt, allegedly allowing Hamas terrorists to enter Egyptian territory without anyone noticing. Israel has claimed at the ICJ hearing that Egypt’s government knew about those tunnels.
On 26th May (local time) Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas launched rockets at the Tel Aviv area in Israel. Sirens were heard across the region warning the residents to take shelter immediately. Hours after the rocket strike by the terrorist group, Israeli forces launched an airstrike at Rafah, an area that is the southern most part of the Gaza strip, where currently many Palestinians have taken shelter.
Notably, it is on the border with Egypt. During the airstrike, Israel accidentally hit a tent camp where reportedly displaced Palestinians were living. Media reports have claimed that around 45 people including children and elderly lost their lives and 200 were injured in the strike. However, Israel has denied it, saying they had hit a terrorist shelter away from civilian area.
IDF has stated that they had launched a precision strike with a limited amount of explosives at an area 1.7 km away from the civilian zone. However, secondary explosions might have been triggered because Hamas has a habit of storing explosives and munitions in civilian areas, often using civilian compounds as cover.
Also, Hamas has been successfully running a misinformation campaign. They have earlier made misleading, sometimes totally false claims amplifying victimhood, while using Palestinian civilians as human shield throughout the conflict. One such attempt was the desperate efforts to claim “hundreds of civilians killed in Shifa hospital“. Soon enough, images and videos exposed their lies. The fire incident in a parking lot was amplified as mass destruction, with active help from international media.
The attack by Israeli forces was aimed at killing Hamas operatives hiding in the area and they successfully neutralised two of them. United Nations and the World Health Organisation condemned the air strike on Rafah. Israel has expressed regret over the death of 45 people in the fire and explosions and launched an investigation in the matter.
Displaced priorities: The hypocrisy of selective outrage
The recent surge in such posts by numerous Indian celebrities has brought to light a troubling trend of selective outrage. A particular image was shared over 33 million times worldwide on Instagram which appears to be an attempt to create a negative narrative against Israel. These celebrities collectively amplified the message which reminded of the “I am ashamed” placard campaign during the Kathua incident. Instead of trying to get into the depth of the incident to find out what happened, Hindus were targeted with selective outrage. However, their conspicuous silence on other pressing issues reveals a stark hypocrisy.
The social media onslaught of the ‘All eyes on Rafah’ campaign has again exposed how celebrities are detached from ground realities and the bigger picture. Dozens of hostages taken away by Hamas after the October 7 massacre are yet to return home. Recently released videos show how brutally young girls were raped and tortured by Hamas terrorists, but none of that was enough to incite concern from these celebrities with millions of followers.
