Art installations at Tel Aviv rally marking 100 days of war highlight hostages’ horrific conditions

At the 24-hour rally to mark 100 days since Hamas took some 240 people hostage into the Gaza Strip, demonstrators in Hostage Square are flocking to public art installations set up in honor of the missing.

One artist, Dana Sapir, donned in black and trapped in a cage, attracts attention from passersby and even brings one woman to tears as she attempts to claw her way out from a cage. Written on both her palms in black marker is the title of her piece: “Over my dead body.”

She remains in the tiny cage for hours, completely exposed to the pouring rain.

Next to Sapir is a mock Hamas tunnel erected earlier today. Attendees are lining up for the chance to walk through the claustrophobic, dimly-lit passage.

Etched on the walls of the tunnel are the names of the hostages, messages from families to their captured loved ones and tally marks counting down the days until their return. The distant sound of gunshots plays through speakers inside the tunnel, intending to simulate the dire conditions of the hostages.

Ofek, a demonstrator from Tel Aviv who arrived at the square around midnight, plans to stay all night at the rally despite the heavy rain.

“The issue of the hostages is declining [in publicity], fewer people are talking about them. Before on the big advertising boards, you would see posters demanding their return, now it’s less,” he says. He believes the current government isn’t prioritizing the return of the hostages, and that mass demonstrations like tonight’s are important to put pressure on Israel’s leadership.

Though the number of demonstrators has fallen since its peak at 120,000, many remain and are setting up for the night.