The Boston Globe covered the “Boston Unites Against Terror: Hostage Tunnel Immersive Exhibit” (August 18-20), of which B’nai B’rith International is the primary sponsor. Read the article here.

City Hall Plaza is playing host to an unusual exhibit: a shipping container reconfigured to resemble a tunnel below Gaza where Hamas fighters are said to be holding hostages taken during the group’s assault on Israel last October.

Developed by the Forum for Families of Hostages, “Boston Unites Against Terror: Hostage Tunnel Immersive Exhibit” uses audio recovered from Hamas fighters and video from inside the actual tunnels to simulate the hostage experience as visitors walk through the shipping container — an experience that last just a few minutes.

“The impetus really was to raise awareness about the hostages,” said Daniel S. Mariaschin, chief executive of B’nai B’rith International. “This immersive tunnel project was really intended to give visitors an opportunity for just a very slight glimpse into what it is that these hostages are enduring in these horrific conditions.”

In addition to the tunnel, family representatives of some hostages are on hand, and the exhibition includes posters describing the experiences some hostages have undergone during their captivity.

On Oct. 7 last year, Hamas-led fighters killed roughly 1,200 people and kidnapped an estimated 250, numerous Americans among them, during an attack on southern Israel. The incursion triggered the continuing war in Gaza, where an estimated 40,000 Palestinians have died since the fighting began.

The exhibition, which closes Tuesday, is similar to other installations that have been exhibited in Washington D.C. and Geneva.

Mariaschin said they hope to bring the exhibit to other cities as well.

“The idea is to travel it,” he said. “That is very high up on the agenda.”