Rohit Sharma’s wife, Ritika Sajdeh, was among the celebrities who shared "All Eyes on Rafah" posts on May 28. However, she was quick to delete the post after getting heavily trolled over it. At the time of writing this report, her Instagram Story on ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ remains unavailable.
The phrase "All eyes on Rafah" spread widely on social media on May 28 as Israel launched fresh attacks in Gaza. Despite global criticism and a court order to stop the alleged genocide, Israel continues to carry out airstrikes. The attacks continued after Spain and Norway had recognised Palestine as a state in a significant but symbolic gesture.
More than a million people, making up about half of Gaza's population, have been living in Rafah, the southernmost exit point of Gaza near Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
Many have fled the area again after Israel started what it described as a limited incursion. Iran Embassy in India earlier posted on X (formerly Twitter) that over 1.4 million Palestinians are seeking shelter due to the “ ongoing genocide in Rafah”.
Ritika joined the list of Bollywood celebrities like Varun Dhawan, Sonam Kapoor, Rakul Preet, Triptii Dimri, Nora Fatehi and Bhumi Pednekar. India’s tennis legend Sania Mirza, singer Shilpa Rao, and south stars like Dulquer Salmaan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu also shared the same post.
Comedian Vir Das, singer Dhvani Bhanushali, actor Swara Bhaskar, and rapper Raftaar are also among the public figures to express their opposition to the Gaza situation. Geeta Basra, the wife of former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, also posted the same Rafah creative on her Instagram Story.
A section of social media users appears to be unhappy with the India captain’s wife for being “selective” in raising her voice against atrocities.
“She is the wife of Rohit Sharma, Ritika Sajdeh. Never talk about Kashmiri pandits. Never talk about Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh. But showing too much care about Palestine and Gaza,” wrote one user.
Some alleged that it was a “paid story” posted by Ritika, not being aware of the “fraudulent activities” pro-Palestinian people get engaged in.
“A political PR agency contacted Rohit Sharma's wife Ritika Sajdeh regarding a paid story on Instagram. She was unaware of the fraudulent activities used by Pro-palestinian. She posted a paid story but when she came to know the truth of that story, she immediately deleted it,” the user wrote.
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