UPDATE: the Jerusalem Post which published this report mistranslated the press release in Hebrew. It was not the US Defense Department but the Israeli ministry of Defense mission in the US which purchased the masks from China & shipped them to Israel.
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Even though face masks are not available in large sections of the US, the Defense Department allocated one-million masks procured from China to be sent immediately to the Israeli army. That’s not a bad thing since masks provide some measure of protection to Palestinians surrounded in their daily lives by Israeli soldiers as well as to Israelis who come in contact with soldiers. But if the US can get masks for the Israeli army, why can’t it get them for the millions of Americans who are unable to find them for sale anywhere?