I really appreciate the citations the author included at the bottom and they’re well worth skimming. One of which I’ll point out below, though it may be somewhat tangential to reasons for masking, I think most here would agree it’s worth highlighting:

25. Like bombs and bullets, COVID is used as a tool of genocide. Israel denies Palestinians vaccines and medical treatments, destroys Palestinian COVID research and treatment centers, assassinates Palestinian COVID experts, and creates conditions ideal for COVID spread. Most Palestinians don’t have access to the $1-$2 N95’s that Westerners take for granted.

Nabil, Nada. “They Survived the Bombs, but Not the Virus: Fatal Illness Spreads in Gaza.” Middle East Eye, 2026,
www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-survived-bombs-not-virus-fatal-illness-spreads.
Mahase, Elisabeth. “Gaza: Israeli Airstrikes Kill Doctors and Damage Healthcare Facilities.” BMJ, vol. 373, 20 May 2021, p. n1300,
www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1300, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1300.

this is great, thanks

wow thanks for sharing! good to see people still putting effort into this message in 2026