By: Khaled Tayeh
RAMALLAH, Tuesday, May 28, 2027 (WAFA) – The horrendous massacre Israeli occupation warplanes committed in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, has left little to imagine following the horrible footage that went viral right after Palestinian civilians were targeted while they were in tents they thought were a haven.
The new Israeli atrocity, which came no different to other crimes committed by the occupation regime in Gaza, which has been under a brutal, deadly aggression for 235 days now, was firmly slammed and faced with strong backlash in all sorts of forms in all levels.
On May 26, at least 45 Palestinian civilians were killed and others were injured, mostly children and women, in the Israeli occupation's bombardment of the tents of displaced people northwest of the city of Rafah.
Medical sources said that at least 45 citizens were killed, and others were injured after the occupation forces targeted, with at least eight missiles, the tents of people sheltering in a displacement camp that was recently established near the warehouses of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), northwest of Rafah.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) confirmed that its crews transported a large number of bodies and injured after the occupation targeted the tents of the displaced in Rafah.
PRCS confirmed that the people who were inside the tents, mostly children and women, were burnt alive.
The targeted area, which is crowded with thousands of displaced persons, was previously declared as a safe zone by the occupation.
The massacre sparked several reactions from politicians, who slammed Israel’s continuous targeting of civilian areas. Palestinian presidential spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, slammed the Israeli occupation army's deliberate targeting of the tents of displaced persons in Rafah and stressed the urgent need for an intervention to stop the crimes committed against the Palestinian people immediately.
Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Arab Parliament, France, Turkey, Spain, Ireland, Norway, Canada, Pakistan, Maldives all condemned the Israeli attack on the civilians in Rafah.
Celebrities, including singers, actors, and other influential figures also used their platforms to express outrage and anger over Israel’s ongoing atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza, especially the Rafah massacre.
Lebanese singer Elissa, who is considered the best-selling Arab female artist in the Middle East and has millions of followers on her social media pages, took to her social media pages to slam the Israeli strike on Rafah.
“The images and sounds of Rafah will never leave my mind,” she said. “Humanity died yesterday and has been dead since October 7. Oh Lord, our prayers and what we ask for would not be enough. Have mercy on these people and children and have mercy on Palestine. What is this crime? Is this the democracy that they are exporting to the world?”
Elissa has always publicly voiced her support for Palestine, most notably in 2021, when Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood went viral following Israeli threats of forcibly displacing its residents.
Leigh-Anne, the British singer, songwriter and actress, posted an image on her Instagram account that said “All Eyes on Rafah” and wrote #CeasefireNow in the caption.
“I call on everyone to stand by the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom and justice,” Egyptian actress Youssra said in a post on X.
In a post on X, Lebanese singer Myriam Fares asked her fans to unite prayers for the innocent children.
“Let us all unite our prayers tonight for the souls of the victims and the innocent children,” she said.
Lebanese singer and television personality Maya Diab strongly condemned the massacre in Rafah, calling world silence ‘horrifying.’
“All words are powerless in front of what we see in Rafah with terrifying silence from the whole world,” she said on X. “Children’s heads are cut off… Humanity today is at its worst.”
“My heart is burning, and I can't understand it!! What we are seeing are not scenes in movies, they are scenes from reality that even the mind cannot comprehend that they are reality,” Lebanese singer and actress Carole Samaha said, addressing the horrendous scenes from Rafah. “What’s left of this massacre, crime and genocide until the world takes action against this criminal entity???”
“No feeling or word can describe what happened,” said Lebanese singer and actress Haifa Wehbe on X. “Our hearts are aching; our hearts are with Palestine.”
Lebanese singer Najwa Karam express outrage over the Rafah massacre in a post on X, saying that “humanity has never seen anything more horrific than such a crime.”
“The ones who call for humanity and its rights left and haven’t returned. Or maybe they don’t exist at all. Move, world!”
“When will the Israeli Nazi criminals get enough of the blood of children and innocent civilians?”, said Lebanese singer Ragheb Alame in anger. “How long will the international community remain afraid of the Zionist lobby?”, he added in a post on X.
Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram said that images from Rafah massacre are only a proof of the evil that fills the universe.
“I wish I could wake up to you and tell you good morning, but the pictures of body parts and the bombing of innocent people in the camps make you cry and only indicate the evil that fills the universe,” she said.
Palestinian-American supermodel Bella Hadid shared several stories on Instagram, condemning the Israeli strike on Rafah, and showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Assala, Maguy Bou Ghosn, Nadine Nassib Njeim, Carmen Soliman, Ahlam, Razan El Moghrabi, Samira Said, Hadise, Hazal Kaya are among the celebrities who condemned the attack on Rafah and express support for Palestinians.
American actress Marcia Cross, known for her role as Bree Van de Kamp on the popular TV series 'Desperate Housewives’, dedicated her social media pages, precisely her account on X, to condemn the Israeli aggression on Gaza, all while reposting pro-Palestine content.
In February, Cross made a post on Instagram including a statement that said "I'm struggling to comprehend how to live among people with eyes that don't water, hearts that don't flinch, and voices that remain silent."
She ended her statement with emojis of a broken heart and the flag of Palestine.
The 61-year-old actress captioned her post with "There are no words for the horror that has and is being unleashed. And the silence has me believing I am deaf."
On X, she reposted several posts showing the suffering of Palestinian civilians and children in Gaza under the airstrikes, and posts condemning the Israeli aggression on Gaza, and captioned them with hashtags like: #CeasefireInGazaNOW #ceasefire #StopBombingHospitals.
Similarly, American actress Susan Sarandon, who has always spoken in favor of Palestinians on several occasions, used her official page on X to reshare a lot of posts condemning Israel's aggression against Gaza, and showing solidarity with the Palestinian people.
In a video she shared on social media, south African travel influencer Candice King called out Israel for slaughtering babies in Gaza, citing the massacre in Rafah as the most recent evidence.
American singer-songwriter Kehlani, who in October, 2023, was one of the first and main international celebrities who took it to her Instagram page to show full support and solidarity with Palestine amidst the ongoing Israeli aggression, posted several stories on Instagram, slamming Israel’s killing of Palestinian children in Gaza and expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
K.T
