(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) The phrase ‘All Eyes On Rafah’ has gained traction on social media following Israeli air strikes in Rafah, southern Gaza, that killed 40 Palestinians and injured hundreds more. Several Indian celebrities, including Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Rashmika Mandanna, Sonakshi Sinha, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Triptii Dimri, Dia Mirza, and Richa Chadha, have expressed their support for Palestinians by posting the viral phrase on their Instagram stories.

Alia Bhatt’s Instagram story

Priyanka Chopra’s Instagram story

Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Instagram story

The Israel attack

While the Israeli military claimed that its air force targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah using ‘precise ammunition and based on precise intelligence,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that a ‘tragic mistake’ had occurred. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and noncombatants in its calculation, Sunday night’s attack has brought the total number of Palestinian deaths in the war to over 36,000.

Also read:
THROWBACK WEDNESDAY: When Deepika Padukone unintentionally called Ranveer Singh as Ranbir Kapoor [WATCH]

How the war began

The battle began on October 7 when Hamas launched an offensive on southern Israeli villages, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 captives. Efforts to resolve the battle and repatriate more than 120 prisoners have been stuck for weeks, but there were some encouraging signals this weekend following meetings between Israeli and US intelligence officials, as well as Qatar’s Prime Minister.