Crowdfunding for IOF: Goggles, gloves, BBQs, and music festivals

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
17 Aug 2024 12:37
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Amid severe military gear shortages and troubling rhetoric, Israeli settlers and "Israel" supporters are fundraising for a demoralized IOF.

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An Israeli occupation soldier jumps from the top of a tank in an area near the separation barrier, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (AP)

Against the backdrop of severe shortages in the IOF's military equipment and troubling rhetoric surrounding their operations, Israeli settlers and a pro-occupation fund have recently issued a call for crowdfunding for their troops.

One of such appeals, particularly by the Chesed Fund, comes despite the substantial multi-billion-dollar arms packages provided by the United States, which underscores the ongoing challenges faced by the IOF in maintaining adequate supplies.

The situation is compounded by controversial messaging linked to their military actions, including a troubling juxtaposition of terms like aiding the IOF "enjoy a sense of normalcy" despite the realities of genocide and occupation.

This sponsorship request highlights the IOF's failure to ensure the full preparedness of their military and the demoralization of their troops stemming from the 10 months of compounded failures despite an ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Among the military gear settlers and pro-Israeli supporters are asked to sponsor include:

Tactical Military Gloves: For $36, sponsors can provide gloves that protect soldiers' hands and fingers from shrapnel.
Rain Proof Storm Suit: For $72, they ensure that soldiers stay warm and dry in harsh conditions.
Complete Warmth Package: For $180, a package including a rain suit, gloves, and thermal underwear will keep one soldier comfortable.
Tactical Boots: For $360, soldiers are helped to step confidently with a new pair of tactical boots.
Tactical Helmet: For $360, critical protection is provided for one soldier with an IOF-approved helmet.
Bulletproof Vest: For $360, sponsor a life-saving bulletproof vest for a soldier.
Two Pairs of Tactical Boots: For $720, enable two soldiers to step confidently.
Two Tactical Helmets: For $720, provide protection for a team with two IOF-approved helmets.
Three Bulletproof Vests: For $1,080, offer protection to three soldiers with bulletproof vests.
Four Tactical Helmets: For $1,440, protect a squad with four IOF-approved helmets.
15 Tactical Helmets: For $5,400, sponsor protection for a mission with 15 IOF-approved helmets.
Thermal Drone: For $6,000, provide advanced reconnaissance capability with a thermal drone.
30 Tactical Helmets: For $10,088, equip an entire unit with 30 IOF-approved helmets.

BBQ, music after genocide: Killers need entertainment too

Moreover, the sponsorship includes meals and leisure for the Israeli occupation troops serving the killing machine as part of the Israeli occupation's genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Between deployments, during which the IOF commit one massacre after the other, the occupation troops are offered a space to sing, dance, and live their lives as if nothing had happened despite the staggering death toll that now exceeds 40,000 Palestinians.

Musical BBQ for 100 Soldiers: For $1,800, sponsor a BBQ event with live music for 100 soldiers.
1 Hr Of Live Music: For $180, contribute to an hour of joy through live music performances for the troops.
Enhanced Musical BBQ: For $3,600, provide a full BBQ experience, including steak, a band, and an enhanced sound system for 100 soldiers.

IOF's mishandling of PTSD: Disabled soldier gets called to genocidal service

At the remote K BAR L ranch in Montana, as advertised in The Times of Israel, 15 former IOF Paratroopers Brigade soldiers, who had taken part in the Israeli occupation's genocide in the Gaza Strip, found a rare respite to "learn tools to cope with mental health challenges" in a seven-day retreat.

After killing thousands of Palestinians in cold blood, the troops are sent to Montana, off the grid and about 120 km from the Canadian border, to sit in isolation from phones, TVs, and the internet, provided with a "much-needed escape" from the memories they created in Gaza where they left beheaded children and limbless bodies, with people's body parts put together in a supermarket-made plastic bag.

According to Israeli media, research indicates that 8 to 15% of Israeli occupation soldiers develop PTSD, with severe cases potentially leading to suicide as a result of the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

For "Israel", people are so dispensable that even their soldiers, who have been called into reserves post-Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and are now facing severe trauma, were sent an order to return to duty despite their diagnosed PTSD. In one instance, the order resulted in a soldier taking his own life two days later.

This shows not only how irrelevant human life is for "Israel" but also the shortages and incapacitation of the occupation's troops following 10 months of difficult confrontations in the Gaza Strip.

While the Resistance continues to confront Israeli occupation incursions with high morale and inflicting heavy losses, armed with their faith in God and the hope for a free Palestine, the Israeli occupation and its soldiers are finding themselves incapacitated and dispensible by their own government following all the pain and damage they caused.