Palestinian war photographer Motaz Azaiza posted a picture on Instagram showing Rafah in rubble alongside a caption that reads: “Remember All Eyes on Rafah? This is Rafah now."
Azaiza is referring to the Instagram Story that went viral in May, which aimed to draw attention to the city during Israel's continued bombing campaign. Created by a user in Malaysia named shahv4012, the AI-generated image shows tents in a camp arranged to spell out “All Eyes on Rafah”.
The template was first posted after a deadly strike on a refugee camp in Rafah, just two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its operations in the southern Gaza city. The template was shared by more than 40 million users including Hollywood celebrities.
Azaiza's post on Sunday has received more than 600,000 likes.
Once a bustling city in Gaza, Rafah is now marked by devastation with little left standing. Continuous Israeli air strikes, ground assaults and demolitions have forced tens of thousands of people to flee – and those who remain live in fear of what will happen next.
In September, the Israeli army acknowledged the destruction of about 96,000 homes in Gaza, claiming they were booby-trapped. The tally included about 14,000 homes in Rafah.
Taysir Muhaysin, spokesman for the Government Media Office in Gaza, told The National last month that Rafah had become "a city unfit for habitation".
“The Israeli war on Gaza has devastated most buildings and infrastructure in Rafah," Muhaysin said. "The destruction is relentless, with air and ground strikes coupled with continuous bulldozing operations that don’t pause."
Azaiza, who became known on social media for his daily reporting of the war, left Gaza in February for treatment. “I used to be the photographer of the beauty of Gaza, I was always fighting to make beautiful pictures of my home town," he said in May at an event in London to mark the 1948 Nakba.
“I lost the people that I captured in my pictures, lots of places I used to hang out there and take pictures there, I lost my access to my city, I lost the days I spent in my home."
Despite its popularity, the “All Eyes on Rafah” post was also criticised, with some claiming that it promoted a sanitised reality in Rafah.
Saint Hoax, the popular pseudonym of a Syrian artist, satirist and sociopolitical activist on Instagram, compared it to the black squares posted during the #BlackoutTuesday movement in 2020. The collective action to protest racism and police brutality in the US, a response to the murder of George Floyd, was also criticised for not efficiently supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
“While the image has been shared over 40 million times and helps spread the word, it would be much more effective if it were followed up with a statistic, infographic, or fund-raiser to contextualise the severity of this genocide,” Saint Hoax, who has more than 3.4 million followers, wrote in a post.
“Though well-intentioned, the post ends up overshadowing Palestinian journalists and activists who are deeply engaged in the work.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
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End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
more from Janine di Giovanni
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
