Countless numbers of Israelis spent the hours before the onset of the American assault on Iraq opening their gas mask kits, reading the instructions, and carefully trying them on themselves and on their children. The IDF's Homefront Command issued the instructions to do so last night, less than six hours before the 48-hour American ultimatum to Saddam Hussein expired.
The public was instructed to test that the masks are in operating condition and to practice adjusting the head straps. A pamphlet accompanying each kit emphasizes that the plastic cover and cap covering the filter openings must be thrown away - so as to ensure that they are not left on while the mask is worn, thus causing the type of suffocation that occurred in the past. Similar emphasis was placed on not touching the atropine shots - but seven people misunderstood and injected themselves with the antidotes; two of them required hospital treatment.
The Homefront Command announcement also emphasized that children between the ages of 3 and 9, whose masks include special air pumps to ease breathing, should try on their masks only in the presence and with the assistance of an adult. The gas pumps must always be activated prior to putting on the mask, and turned off immediately upon removing the mask. Click here for instructions in English from the Israel Defense Forces website.
Israeli government and military officials decided that all schools and places of work would continue their daily routine today, though schoolchildren were instructed to bring their gas masks with them to school. The Ministry of Education asked for kindergarten-parent volunteers to accompany their children, in case the need arises to help the pre-schoolers put on their gas masks. In some schools, children who arrived without masks were sent home.
Call-in shows on various radio channels Wednesday night enabled Israelis to express their anxieties and hear professional advice on war-related issues. A kibbutz member told of his trying situation: "As per instructions, my wife and I tried to fit the gas mask on my 3-year-old son. He adamantly refused and burst out crying. We tried everything, but the boy remained scared stiff of wearing it... We tried to explain that this was another type of Purim mask, but it didn't work." The soothing radio voice said that the parents should under no circumstances force the mask on the child, but should rather let the toddler play with the mask and its various parts until he gradually becomes comfortable with it: "Then you can have him put it on a doll and explain to the doll how to wear it and use it."
The IDF Spokesperson's Office announced today the commencement of a "silent" radio broadcast. Civilians who don't wish to hear war talk on the radio all day can keep their receivers tuned to the publicized silent frequencies. At a time of emergency, announcers will come on air providing emergency information. Click here for the silent frequencies in Israel.
The public was instructed to test that the masks are in operating condition and to practice adjusting the head straps. A pamphlet accompanying each kit emphasizes that the plastic cover and cap covering the filter openings must be thrown away - so as to ensure that they are not left on while the mask is worn, thus causing the type of suffocation that occurred in the past. Similar emphasis was placed on not touching the atropine shots - but seven people misunderstood and injected themselves with the antidotes; two of them required hospital treatment.
The Homefront Command announcement also emphasized that children between the ages of 3 and 9, whose masks include special air pumps to ease breathing, should try on their masks only in the presence and with the assistance of an adult. The gas pumps must always be activated prior to putting on the mask, and turned off immediately upon removing the mask. Click here for instructions in English from the Israel Defense Forces website.
Israeli government and military officials decided that all schools and places of work would continue their daily routine today, though schoolchildren were instructed to bring their gas masks with them to school. The Ministry of Education asked for kindergarten-parent volunteers to accompany their children, in case the need arises to help the pre-schoolers put on their gas masks. In some schools, children who arrived without masks were sent home.
Call-in shows on various radio channels Wednesday night enabled Israelis to express their anxieties and hear professional advice on war-related issues. A kibbutz member told of his trying situation: "As per instructions, my wife and I tried to fit the gas mask on my 3-year-old son. He adamantly refused and burst out crying. We tried everything, but the boy remained scared stiff of wearing it... We tried to explain that this was another type of Purim mask, but it didn't work." The soothing radio voice said that the parents should under no circumstances force the mask on the child, but should rather let the toddler play with the mask and its various parts until he gradually becomes comfortable with it: "Then you can have him put it on a doll and explain to the doll how to wear it and use it."
The IDF Spokesperson's Office announced today the commencement of a "silent" radio broadcast. Civilians who don't wish to hear war talk on the radio all day can keep their receivers tuned to the publicized silent frequencies. At a time of emergency, announcers will come on air providing emergency information. Click here for the silent frequencies in Israel.