The Israeli Army's Black Hoods Can't Cover Its War Crimes in Gaza

Gideon Levy

Sep 4, 2025

https://archive.is/iqDnW

Israel is covering its face: out of shame, perhaps, or guilt, or fear, and presumably out of all three. The new trend is for officers being interviewed on television to cover their faces with black hoods. The army of the people has become the army of the hoods.

Lt. Col. T., a battalion commander in the Reserve Corps, says the rate for reservists reporting for duty is "impressive"; Maj. S., a Reserve Corps deputy battalion commander, says: "I left a fearless wife alone at home with three children who have returned to their routines and a business that has been put on hold. Nevertheless, we understand that we are on an important mission." Both interviewees wear black hoods. They look like two bank robbers preparing for a heist; only their eyes are visible. Military-issued hoods have replaced the burglars' classic nylon stocking. Presumably there is someone, and something, that need to be concealed.

The first, as always, were the air force pilots. In every interview they wore the impressive helmet as well as dark sunglasses, lest someone recognize them. At first, the fear was that if a pilot were to fall from a plane in the middle of the night, his captors would recognize him from the TV interview. Thanks to the helmet and dark glasses, he'll be able to claim that he's a desk sergeant, or that he's opposed to payments in the military. But with the rise in crimes committed by the pilots in Gaza, the disguise took on an additional important purpose: to keep our boys with "the right stuff" from being identified in The Hague, where they know what the pilots are up to.

Members of the security details of the prime minister and of a few cabinet members have recently joined the charade of mystery, concealment and self-aggrandizement. They wear black surgical masks, adding another dimension to what was already a grotesque spectacle of dozens of bodyguards aggressively fawning over a single individual, with great seriousness. Now the bodyguards, and not only their protectees, are sensitive targets. Add the masked guards to the wailing sirens and the endless motorcades and we have a certified banana republic. The black medical masks are the cherry on top. If the bodyguards once seemed like our finest, in the black masks they, too, have become mafia enforcers. Maybe that's the goal.

But the new military hoods and bodyguard costumes are not only a caricature of self-importance; they also reflect a broader reality. At least some reservist officers who are going into Gaza this week are doing so knowing that they are supposed to commit horrific war crimes. They report for duty nevertheless. The hood is supposed to make it easier for them. It says that they have something to hide and something to fear.

The armed robber who sets out on his biggest heist knows that what he is doing is illegal, immoral and dangerous; that's why he wears a nylon stocking. It's the same for the officers going into the Gaza Strip. Perhaps a few of them are ashamed of their actions. It's highly doubtful – the robbers, likewise, are not ashamed; most are afraid of getting caught. The fear of The Hague has fallen upon the military, as it should.

Not that this terror is justified. The wheels of justice in The Hague turn unbearably slowly. By the time they determine if genocide is taking place in Gaza, no one will be left there. Nor will Benjamin Netanyahu be extradited, despite the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant. Still, the fact that the officers are wearing hoods suggests that there is an understanding within the military that something is not right and caution is needed. Not caution regarding actions, but rather caution so as not to be caught as a result of them.

An army that cloaks its officers in black hoods is an army that understands that they are committing crimes, even if it does not admit to any of them. Eventually, even the people watching the officers who disguise themselves may come to recognize this fact.