Dua Lipa shares support for #AllEyesOnRafah: “Burning children alive can never be justified”
Dua Lipa has shared her support for #AllEyesOnRafah, advocating for an end to Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinian people.
The pop star expressed her support for Palestine in a new update on Instagram, making a nod to the viral image spearheaded by activists and humanitarian groups. The AI-generated image shows tents at a camp arranged to read ‘All Eyes On Rafah’ – and comes in a bid to gather support for those forced to live in cramped refugee camps in the southern city of the Gaza Strip with no humanitarian aid.
The slogan gathered momentum in light of Israel’s intensified military operations in Rafah. A report from The Associated Press highlighted that Israel’s recent shelling and airstrike attacks killed at least 37 people between Monday and Tuesday (May 27-28). It also shared that more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed since October.
Rafah was home to thousands of displaced Palestinians from all over the Gaza Strip, and came under both ground and air offensive last Sunday (May 26). NDTV also reported how the attack left several tents on fire, which then swept through the area, killing more people, including children.
‘All Eyes On Rafah’ has since been adopted by groups like Save The Children, Oxfam, Americans For Justice In Palestine Action, Jewish Voice For Peace and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. It has also gone viral on social media, and has been shared over 29million times on Instagram in less than one day.
Dua Lipa is one of countless famous faces who have shown their support for the Palestinian people online amid the violence.
“Burning children alive can never be justified,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories. “The whole world is mobilising to stop the Israeli genocide. Please show your solidarity with Gaza. #AllEyesOnRafah.”
You can see a screenshot of the post below.
It also comes after the singer joined the likes of Michael Stipe and Cate Blanchett in signing an open letter to US President Joe Biden calling for a ceasefire last year, and urged for there to be “an end to the bombing of Gaza and the safe release of hostages”.
Lipa also shared her stance in an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this year, in the run-up to her latest album ‘Radical Optimism’, and once again called for world leaders to “take a stand”.
“My existence is kind of political, the fact that I lived in London because my parents left from the war… I feel for people who have to leave their home,” she said.
“From my experience of being in Kosovo and understanding what war does, no one really wants to leave their home. They do it for protection, to save their family, to look after the people around them, that kind of thing, for a better life. So I feel close to it.
“I feel so bad for every Israeli life lost and what happened on Oct. 7. At the moment, what we have to look at is how many lives have been lost in Gaza, and the innocent civilians, and the lives that are just being lost. There are just not enough world leaders that are taking a stand and speaking up about the humanitarian crisis that’s happening, the humanitarian cease-fire that has to happen.”
Others who have shared the ‘All Eyes On Rafah’ graphic on social media include Pedro Pascal, Bella Hadid, Susan Sarandon and former Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
The response from Lipa comes just weeks ahead of her planned appearance at Glastonbury, where she will headline alongside Coldplay and SZA. Other performers include Shania Twain, LCD Soundsystem, Little Simz and The National.