In the wake of Israel's strike on Syrian chemical weapons convoys on Wednesday, January 30th, Israeli citizens in the north, closer to the Syrian border, went to get their gas masks.Officials from the Israel Postal Company said that over 4,000 masks had been given out Tuesday, up from 1,400 on the days before. The company also stated that in Jerusalem and Beersheba the numbers were especially high, up from less than 400 a day to over 1,000. That means almost three times the average number of citizens came to distribution centers across the country to receive their protective gear.

As of now, more than 4,700,000 protective gear kits have been distributed countrywide.

Children are especially vulnerable to toxins, and Israel has had to create special gas masks for children. The image in the post is the cover to the User Manual (הוראות שימוש or horeot shimush) for a gas mask for children aged 0 - 2, and illustrates how Israel has coped with dangerous neighbors. In a a few short weeks, though, children will dress up very differently when they celebrate the redemption of the Jewish people from the evil plans of Haman on Purim.