[In the aftermath of the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, the founders of Treedis, an Israeli company that produces virtual and augmented reality media to “advertise properties and other assets,” began documenting some of the events and experiences of that day using virtual reality. The story below from Ynetnews provides details about the project (warning: some content is very disturbing); see the original version of the story for two more images and a 1:38 minute video. More details and the immersive 3D material is available on the Treedis website.

Coverage from All Israel News notes that “The purpose of the exhibition is to transport the viewers to the time and place of the Hamas crimes in southern Israeli communities and to help them understand the extent of the devastation and the magnitude of the events that took place on Oct. 7.“ Echoing efforts to use presence-evoking technologies to preserve memories of the Holocaust, the same story also highlights a larger goal of using presence for advocacy: “Shortly after the Hamas massacres on Oct. 7, a growing number of people worldwide began to deny that the atrocities had ever happened. In late October, Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy described the trend as a ‘Holocaust denial-like phenomenon.’”

See also “The Day Hamas Came,” a story in The New York Times that features an interactive experience from Treedis. –Matthew]

[Image: Walking right through the carnage. Credit: Treedis]

At ground level: New virtual reality exhibit showcases October 7 atrocities

Founders of an Israeli VR company have found a way to use their technology to walk people through the personal experiences of families who went through the Hamas onslaught in chilling detail; ‘I realized the technology we’ve developed can be utilized as powerful advocacy tool,’ said the company founder

By Itamar Eichner
December 24, 2023

Treedis, an Israeli augmented and virtual reality company, is using its expertise to aid Israeli advocacy by constructing a virtual exhibit walking viewers through the horrors of October 7 as if they are walking right through the burnt houses and final blood-chilling text correspondence between Hamas victims and their families.

Currently, the exhibit walks viewers through the personal experiences of five different families, with the Bibas family, recently in the spotlight due to their continued captivity in Gaza with 11-month-old baby Kfir, soon to follow suit. Treedis has mapped out hundreds of homes in many communities around the Gaza border region, also consisting of added layers of documentation to make the exhibit more immersive, as digital and spoken word combine to complete the experience.

For instance, one exhibit takes place inside what is now the ruins of the Berdichevsky family home in Kfar Aza, where parents Itay and Hadar were trying shield their 10-month-old twin babies, only to be brutally murdered. The terrorists later used the sounds of the babies’ cry to lure more victims to their deaths.

A different virtual exhibit, which takes place in Kibbutz Be’eri, lets you listen in on family patriatch, Avida Bachar, and the pleading cries of his 13-year-old daughter, Hadar, via recorded WhatsApp messages. Viewers can also see Hadar conducting a video call with Israeli search & rescue organization, Magen David Adom, who were walking her through the correct way to apply a tourniquet to her wounds, as well as her brother’s.

Normally a company that deals with virtual reality exhibits to advertise properties and other assets, Treedis was founded by Nathanael Lumbroso and Omer Shamay, who met during their service in the Paratroopers Brigade. They were both called up for their reserve duty after the war erupted, and have decided to add an additional layer to their service for their country.

“We realized it’s our duty to contribute in a different arena as well,” says Shamay. “Documenting the horrors and destruction is just as important.”

“One day after it all began, one of our global clients sent a message conveying his difficulty imagining what had actually happened,” said Lumbroso. “That’s when I realized the technology we’ve developed can be utilized as powerful advocacy tool. We felt obliged to move forward.”

“We became more mindful of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to influence the narrative upon which the story is told around the world,” Shamay added. “The project enables a first-of-its-kind look into complex arenas, with layers of information and different mediums of communication, with the aim of telling stories that must never be forgotten. The project is in its infancy, and we plan on cooperating with different bodies to tell the horrific stories that transpired on October 7.”

The family homes were mapped out using Lidar sensors from Matterport and photography giant Leica, but the difficulty of erecting such an endeavor is much more than technological.

“There’s no disengaging emotion when working on such a project,” said Boaz Goldschmidt, a project manager. “As a husband and a parent, the biggest fear is always harm being inflicted on your family, so when you’re exposed to such stories, you can’t help but feel the pain and loss. The Bachar family story hit a nerve with me, and there’s no sense of torpor when listening to what they went through. That’s the point of the project.”

Another project manager, Rotem Elya, said: “The number of stories from October 7 can’t be fathomed. The Shosh family story is right out of a movie, where the hero needs to make an impossible choice between her husband and her children. We tried giving the viewer all the different voices from a horrible situation in real time.”