2023-10-21 18:15:00
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Israeli army soldiers wear distinctive headgear. There is a military tactic behind this, but it is unlikely to achieve anything in Gaza City.
Sderot – In the war in Israel, they should punish Hamas for what the radical Islamist Palestinian terrorist militia did to the Jewish state in the massacre on October 7th: tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu deployed on the Gaza Strip.
War in Israel: Israeli soldiers wear unusual headgear
The majority of the approximately 200 Israeli and international hostages kidnapped by Hamas are still alive, it was reported from Tel Aviv on Friday (October 20). These hostages, including children, are probably being guarded by Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades. The mostly young men and women, who make up around 33 percent of the Israeli army, still want to free as many of the hostages as possible during the upcoming ground offensive in Gaza.
Defense Minister Joaw Galant announced this ground offensive on Thursday (October 19) at a public media event in front of a contingent of those same Israeli soldiers. When the women and men are seen in pictures and videos, one thing always stands out – the unconventional headgear.
October 19, 2023: Israeli soldiers patrol near Sderot, not far from the Gaza Strip. They wear the typical camouflage hood Mitznefet on their heads. © IMAGO/Xinhua
This is the so-called Mitznefet, a camouflage hood for an infantry helmet, which is available in green-brown for the steppe and gray-beige for the desert. The Israeli army is the only army in the world that allows this addition to be worn over the helmet. The experiences from the decades-long Middle East conflict have contributed to this measure.
Mitznefet of the Israeli army: camouflage hood should help in war in Israel
The camouflage hoods have one purpose: the sharp (and easily recognizable for snipers) contour of the head or helmet should be broken up and blurred against the respective background. Be it in or in front of bushes (green-brown) or in the desert (beige). This makes it much harder for the enemy to recognize Israeli soldiers in battle. But: This is likely to be even more difficult in the event of an invasion of Gaza City, as violent house-to-house fighting on concrete-colored streets is expected there. So the effect could fizzle out.
The Mitznefet, however, is an example of the Israel Defense Forces’ essential doctrine of protecting the lives of its people as best as possible. This includes, among other things, the motto “no one is left behind”. For example, the current Merkava Mark IV main battle tank is equipped with several protection systems that are unique to armed forces in the world. For example, through an automatic extinguishing system in the entire tank hull, or a V-shaped tank floor to dissipate the force of anti-tank mines. Or through the extreme wedge shape of the turrets of the main battle tanks, in order to allow anti-tank projectiles to ricochet in the best case scenario.
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Mitznefet of the Israeli Army: Will the effect fizzle out in the concrete of Gaza City?
Mitznefet fits in with the idea of doing everything possible to preserve the lives of soldiers, whereas this is not the case at all on the Russian side in the Ukraine war, for example. Israel, on the other hand, knows that it is a very small country with around 9.4 million inhabitants and that the proportion of the population capable of fighting is finite. Explosive in the region: The name Mitznefet comes from the turban of the same name, which was worn by the high priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. In the war in Israel, the Mitznefet are likely to appear even more frequently. (pm)
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