A wide controversy has erupted on social media due to a live simulation game that allows Israelis to play the role of Israeli agents fighting inside the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, killing Palestinians. The escape room known as Fauda: Explosive Lab in Tel Aviv is based on events from the controversial Israeli Netflix series titled “Fauda,” as reported by the British website Middle East Eye.
Participants in the game pretend to be Israeli agents sent to Gaza, and the game requires them to disguise themselves as Palestinians and make their way to a location resembling the Shifa Hospital in Gaza. In the fictional version of the hospital’s emergency room, players use fake weapons to shoot at Palestinians.
From there, players must enter a tunnel beneath the imaginary Shifa Hospital, where their mission is to neutralize a chemical bomb that was supposed to be launched at Tel Aviv.
“The Shifa Hospital Turns into an Entertainment Venue in Tel Aviv”
It’s worth noting that the real Shifa Hospital in Gaza was besieged by occupation forces for several days in November, resulting in the deaths of many civilians and four infant children.
The Israeli occupation army has claimed since October that Hamas has a command and control center beneath the Shifa Hospital, but it failed to prove this. Last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned of a “disastrous” healthcare situation in Gaza, with only three functioning hospitals remaining in the besieged territory.
Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, the Shifa Hospital disaster has turned into a source of entertainment.
Eric Turkienicz, the businessman who owns the popular escape room, opened the game in 2016 following the first season of the “Fauda” series. He mentioned that his business has flourished since January, specifically with the majority of customers choosing the game set in the Shifa Hospital.
He says that visitors to the escape room included evacuated Israelis from the area surrounding the Lebanese border and a unit of Israeli soldiers in military uniform.
“A Horrifying Small World”
One user on the platform X criticized the escape room, writing: “We can say a lot about the startup culture that continues to innovate terribly.”
The Accountability Archive organization, which claims to record the names of public figures supporting “ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” described the escape room as a “horrifying miniature world,” while many social media users mocked the fact that the game ensures the victory of all players.
