Tel Aviv, Jan 13 (EFE).- An art installation recreated a Hamas tunnel at Hostages Plaza in Tel Aviv for people to experience how the 136 hostages held in the Gaza Strip for almost 100 days live in captivity.
The initiative aims to simulate the “terrible conditions” faced by the hostages in the tunnels where they are hidden, with limited space and a lack of natural light, according to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
The nearly 100-foot long (30-meter) tunnel exhibit was unveiled on Saturday ahead of a rally to mark 100 days of captivity in Gaza.
The relatives of the 136 hostages, 25 of whom are estimated to have died, were the first to walk through the installation before it was opened to the general public.
A long queue quickly formed as people sought to express solidarity with the captives.
The inauguration of the replica tunnel, within which families wrote the names of their loved ones, marked the start of a series of events to demand the return of all hostages from the Israeli government.
A massive demonstration will begin in the square in Tel Aviv, lasting for 24 hours until 8 p.m. Sunday, marking 100 days of war and captivity for those still in Gaza after 110 were released.
“Now I’m trembling, I can barely breathe, and I’ve only been inside for five minutes. I just wanted to run out of there,” said Ella Ben Amin, daughter of Ohad Ben Amin, who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct.7.
“And I have the option to leave, but they don’t. They’ve been sitting in the dark in this terrible place for 100 days.”
Her mother, also a hostage, was released during the truce week that the parties reached in November, during which 105 captives, all women and children, were freed.
Nearly 250 people were abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 during its attack on Israeli soil, which also left over 1,200 dead.
“I can’t describe the feeling. It must feel very lonely,” said Ella, accompanied by her uncle and with a poster of her 55-year-old father.
Eyal Munder, nephew of 78-year-old Avraham Munder, also went through the tunnel.
He described the brief experience as “horrible,” without fresh air, without medication, without food, and without seeing sunlight, sleeping on the floor.”
“Imagine the impact on mental health, assuming my uncle was healthy and young, which is not the case. These are unbearable conditions with damage to the psychological state,” he said.
Eyal welcomed the news, announced by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, that medicines will enter the strip for the hostages in the coming days since 75 percent of them require treatment.
However, he noted that the move was too little and too late.
“The hostages need medical attention, visits from doctors, and for the Red Cross to be able to visit them to check their condition as required by the Geneva Convention,” he said.
Yair Keshel, uncle of Yarden Bibas, kidnapped along with her young children Ariel, 4 years old, and Kfir, 11 months old, called on the world to “do everything possible to bring them back.”
“They are the only children still captive. Two young children. One of them a baby, who has spent 9, 10, and 11 months there,” lamented Yair about the Bibas family case.
This week, it was reported that both Israel and Hamas had rejected a proposed agreement presented by Qatar, which included the release of all hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire. EFE
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