Psychological Operations during the Israel-Lebanon War 2006 By SGM Herbert A. Friedman (Ret.)

On 12 July 2006 Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon crossed the border into Israel, killed eight soldiers and abducted two others. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that a prisoner exchange was the only way to secure the release of the soldiers, who he said were being held in a "secure and remote" location. "No military operation will return them," he said. "The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade." The Israelis do not negotiate and in general do not trade with terrorists. Israeli forces retaliated against Hezbollah strongholds in Southwest Lebanon the same day. They sent troops across the border to search for the missing men. This rapidly escalated into a full-scale invasion and a surprisingly strong defensive reaction by Hezbollah who had thousands of rockets instead of the hundreds that Israel probably expected. Hezbollah even had an estimated eight or nine drones produced by Iran. Their bunkers were equipped with computers and video systems that were able to watch Israeli military movement. Their bunkers were dug deep into the ground and fortified. Israeli forces struck Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah's office and home in Beirut's Shiite-dominant southern suburbs, prompting the leader of the "Party of God" to declare "open war" against the Jewish state. This article is not about the war. We will mention some pertinent points briefly, but this article is about the psychological operations conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces and the Hezbollah Party. Readers who are interested in the military aspect of this short 34-day war must look elsewhere. I should also point out that translations differ, and in some cases the text does not translate to proper English. I have tried to give a translation of the message that is what I believe the PSYOP troops wanted to convey to the target audience and edited the grammar where needed. Readers will note that many of the leaflets are without translation at present. Any Arabic-speaking reader who might care to translate a leaflet and send the information to the author is thanked in advance. During the Israeli retaliatory raids and invasion of Lebanon, the Israeli Defense Forces dropped a great number of leaflets on an almost daily basis. The leaflets were dropped from fighter aircraft using leaflets bombs, in containers on parachutes, and from helicopters. There are reports of them being disseminated by artillery shells both from land and naval ships, and one photograph showing a fragment of what is reported to be part of an American propaganda artillery shell may prove that the reports are true. They had dropped leaflets in the past, but never to the extent that they did in July and August 2006. During the conflict, there were 47 leaflet missions over Lebanon, with a total of more then 17,000,000 leaflets dropped. In addition to that, more then 700,000 computerized voice messages were delivered to citizens in Lebanon. The Israeli Army reactivated its Psychological Warfare Unit and in a rare televised news broadcast they allowed a 20-year old unnamed female cartoonist to be photographed from the back as she designed leaflets showing the Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah as a snake or a scorpion with text that said that Nasrallah is leading Lebanon to ruin and is the blame for all the death and destruction. Many of the leaflets are brightly colored in pink or yellow and many contain cartoons and caricatures. Among the leaflets displayed were some that will be mentioned in this article and some that are yet unknown. They are; The Hezbollah leader as a puppet holding two rockets; Nine white tombstones on a black background; The Hezbollah leader as a spider in the center on a web; The Hezbollah leader hiding while Lebanese civilians are killed by four explosions, The face of the Hezbollah leader showing shock and awe; The Hezbollah leader behind three bound Lebanese civilians, and The Hezbollah leader walking off a cliff pulling a cedar of Lebanon (the national symbol) behind him. Curiously, each of these prospective leaflets has its propaganda text in Hebrew. We assume that since the artist was Jewish she added the text to the leaflet in her own language, and if and when they were approved for dissemination and forwarded to the printers for mass production the text would have been translated into Arabic by a trained Israeli linguist. We should point out that at the same time Israel was dropping leaflets on Lebanon they were also dropping leaflets on other contested areas such as Gaza. For instance, the following leaflet had been dropped the previous September over the Gaza Strip. To the residents of the northern Gaza Strip The terrorist actions originating from your areas are forcing the Israel Defense Forces to respond harshly to those who are subjecting the citizens of the State of Israel to danger. We call on the Palestinian Authority to shoulder its responsibility to prevent these criminal acts. We warn you of the danger of remaining in the areas which are being used to launch terrorist actions and we advise you to leave your homes. We are not responsible for the consequences if you ignore our warning. Israel Defense Forces It is also worth noting that Israel had invaded Lebanon before. On 6 June 1982 the Israeli Defense Forces entered Southern Lebanon in response to an assassination attempt against Shlomo Argov, Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom and artillery attacks by the Palestine Liberation Organization against Northern Israel. During the first week of Israel's operations in Lebanon, Syrian troops engaged in battles with Israeli forces. The Israelis destroyed or damaged 18 of the 19 Syrian missile batteries and, in one day, shot down 29 Syrian MiG fighters without the loss of a single plane. The operation was called "Peace for Galilee" and the Israelis occupied southern Lebanon until June 1985. Curiously, this invasion is claimed to be the reason for the creation of the Iranian and Syrian supported Hezbollah organization, which replaced the PLO in Southern Lebanon. The IDF dropped leaflets on Lebanon during the 1982 to 1985 period. On bright pink leaflet is all text: Announcement to the inhabitants of the southern villages Due to the increase in terrorist activity and the launching of missiles from the south into Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces will act to curtail these activities. Calm must prevail on both sides of the border People! If you want to pursue your day to day life in peace you must cease providing assistance to those engaging in terrorist acts or those helping them, and you should take it upon yourself to insure that no terrorist activity takes place in your area. Don't allow your homes to become terrorist dens against Israel or the price will be very costly for all of you both collectively and individually. It is in your hands to stop the destruction and death. There will be no excuse for those who have been forewarned. The Commander of the Northern Israeli Defense Force For the purposes of this article we will only discuss psychological operations of the Israeli-Lebanon war of 2006. Israeli aircraft have been dropping leaflets since shortly after fighting began on July 12. Most of them were either against Hezbollah and its leader sheik Hassan Nasrallah, or called on residents to leave border villages. It is possible that the same leaflet was dropped on more than one occasion. For instance, we know that on at least five instances the same leaflet was dropped on multiple days. The dissemination of the same leaflet on more than one occasion occurred on 21 July and 23 July; 24 July and 30 July; 29 July, 1 August, 4 August, 5 August, and 12 August; and 3 August and 10 August. On 13 July, Israeli warplanes dropped thousands of leaflets over South Beirut urging residents to stay away from the group's offices and buildings. The leaflet is all-text and says: To the Inhabitants of Lebanon Due to the terrorist activities carried out by Hezbollah which destroys the effort to find a brighter future for Lebanon. The Israeli Army will continue its work within Lebanon for as long as it deems fit to protect the citizens of the State of Israel. For your own safety and because we do not wish to cause any more civilian deaths, you are advised to avoid all places frequented by Hezbollah. You should know that the continuation of terrorist activities against the State of Israel will be considered a double-edged sword for you and Lebanon. The State of Israel On 15 July, Israeli planes dropped packages of leaflets on downtown Beirut attacking Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and depicting him as a Cobra with his black turban rolled into the shape of the snake's hood and about to swallow the Lebanese capital. The text of the green leaflet is: To the Lebanese people , Beware!!! He appears to be a brother, but he is a snake. A second version of the same leaflet was dropped the same day, this is almost identical except that there are some minor changes in the cobra's hood and there is no text to the left of the snake. A third leaflet was dropped on 15 July depicting the Hezbollah leader at the lower right in a bunker while four explosions killed Lebanese civilians out in the open and warned that Israel would increase its bombardment of Hezbollah: Let it be known that continued terrorism against Israel will not allow you to be in peace. At the same time, Israel pounded the political headquarters of Hezbollah and the party's television station, al-Manar. On 16 July, Israeli warplanes dropped two different propaganda leaflets over southern Lebanon warning of more attacks. The first leaflet includes references to President Bashar Assad of Syria, Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In this leaflet Hassan Nasrallah is a cobra is dancing to the tune of the flute-playing leaders of Iran, Syria and the Palestinian group Hamas. The cartoon shows two bombs within the cobra's hood, while the foreign leaders sit cross-legged on a map of Lebanon. The Nasrallah-snake says: Need any favors? The second leaflet is all text and was dropped over downtown Beirut: To the Residents of Lebanon The Israeli army will increase its actions in Lebanon against the continuing terrorist actions of Hezbollah to defend the citizens of the state of Israel. For the sake of your own safety, and in our wish not to harm any civilians that are not implicated, you must keep away from the locations where Hezbollah is present and acting against the state of Israel. Including: Locations where missiles are fired in the direction of the state of Israel. Locations of Hezbollah's arsenals and military equipment. Hezbollah's centers south of Beirut and areas under its control in the south of Lebanon. Beirut's southern suburb, the center of terrorism. The Israeli defense army calls on the Lebanese residents and Lebanese army to refrain from aiding, either directly or indirectly, elements of Hezbollah. Anyone who does will be putting their life in danger. Know that the persistence of terrorism against the state of Israel is keeping you from a better future. The State of Israel Lebanese and Arab newspapers featured photographs of civilians sweeping up the leaflets and citizens burning them in public. Lebanese television broadcast what Hezbollah claimed was an Israeli helicopter gunship falling to the ground near the Lebanese capital on 17 July. The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation said that it was an F-16 fighter jet. The Israeli military stated that none of its aircraft were shot down over Beirut and the object shown burning and crashing was a container of propaganda leaflets dropping from an Israeli plane. This all-text leaflet has the following text: To the People of Lebanon Hezbollah declared war on Israel. We all know Israel's enormous power and ability to mobilize her forces against terrorist organizations whenever necessary. People of Lebanon : If you sleep in a cemetery, you are bound to have nightmares. Israel is a powerful nation and determined to do whatever necessary to ensure the safety of her citizens!!! The State of Israel Brigidier General Miri Regev, the Israeli army's chief spokeswoman stated on TV that the Israeli Defense Forces dropped leaflets on 17 July warning residents of southern Lebanon to flee the area ahead of an impending attack. Similar leaflets had been dropped for the past week warning civilians to evacuate the area. On 18 July the Israelis dropped leaflets depicting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a puppet. It is interesting to note that like the "cobra" leaflet depicted above, they were dropped with and without accompanying text. The hands that control the Hezbollah leader are labeled "Syria" and "Iran." The text is: To Lebanese citizens How long? How long will you be marionettes in the hands of Syria and Iran? How long will Hezbollah, the Fifth Column, continue to put your independence and safety in danger? Hezbollah and its leader are hurting the peace and prosperity of Lebanon that was created after a great effort. Israel will continue to use all of its power to strike Hezbollah and to bring peace back to the area. The State of Israel An all-text leaflet was also dropped on 18 July. The message is: Hassan, what are you afraid of? You are afraid of appearing in public and you broadcast recorded speeches. You fled to your shelter and you left your men frightened and exposed in the face of Israel's power. You carry out the orders of your masters and you break your promises to the people of Lebanon causing them painful losses. How long must the people of Lebanon pay for your cowardice and arrogance?

Warning leaflets were airdropped on 19 July over the villages of Al Bazurya and Avasya in southern Lebanon to advise residents of coming IDF strikes on missile launch sites and cautioning that anyone near the sites is there at significant risk to their life. The leaflet text is: To the People of Lebanon Please follow the instructions below!!! The Israeli Defense Force will intensify the targeting of all areas from which rockets are launched against Israel. Everyone in the area will be under extreme danger! As well as that, any pick-up truck or heavy vehicles moving south of the Litani river will be considered a suspicious vehicle transporting rockets and military equipment and will be a potential target for attack by the Israeli Defense Force . Therefore, the above will be under extreme danger. The State of Israel On 19 July the Israelis dropped a leaflet showing the Hezbollah leaders walking off a cliff, pulling the symbolic cedar tree of Lebanon behind him. We are standing on the edge of the abyss - and we are determined to march forward (Note) the word the Israelis used for "abyss" in their original Hebrew-language test leaflet is the biblical one used in Genesis for the pre-creation void. On 20 July, Israel dropped leaflets entitled "All for Lebanon" offering "attractive material rewards" to people who give information about Hezbollah that helps the Jewish state's offensive against the guerrillas. The rewards could be anything from cash to a new house. The leaflet is similar to the "All4Lebanon" computer Internet website (see below). The leaflet depicts a Cedar of Lebanon at the left and is all text at the right. A very rough translation of the text in part is: A brief message to the Lebanese people We turn to all those who can and want to help Lebanon, to remove the Hezbollah scar from your hearts and the heart of Lebanon, and to return to the previous period of independence and achievement. Put aside sayings and slogans and contact us at the following addresses. 00-41-79-7886237 - 00-88-16-214-65627 - Info@all4Lebanon.org No caller's identity will be revealed. Secrecy is guaranteed and the reward we offer is tempting. We would accept with great appreciation any information that can contribute to restoring quiet to the area, so that we can fight terrorists efficiently and carefully. Please help us so that we can help you protect Lebanon from this evil, and return life to the normal routine. For your own wellbeing, contact us from places where no one knows you At the same time, there were a number of reports of Israel sending phone calls to Lebanese civilians. Some of the calls are as early as 5:30 a.m. They continue throughout the day with such recorded messages such as: Oh Lebanese people, we tell you not to follow Hezbollah. We will continue to strike and no one will bring your prisoners back from Israel except the Lebanese government. Hassan, have you realized yet that the Israeli army not as delicate as a spider's web? It's a web of steel that will strangle you! This is the state of Israel. This resistance ... is forcing you to stay at home like rats. Who is it that's putting your life in danger? Who is using you as human shields? We don't want to harm you. We're bombing the infrastructure so Hezbollah will have no means of firing its rockets. We know you wanted to hit Israel, but you have confronted a house made of steel. This is the Israel Defense Forces. Other calls indicated that the Israeli state would not stop the attacks and asking everyone to leave the area south of the Litani. Meanwhile, an Israeli source (possibly Israeli Intelligence) uploaded the Internet website All4Lebanon.org with a logo in the Lebanese national colors of red, white, and green incorporating a cedar tree and text in Arabic, English, and French. The website is an Israeli "grey" propaganda operation and the server for the website is NS.BARAK.NET.IL which was registered on 19 July 2006. Some of the website message is: Let us not be content with words! Whoever is able and willing to help Lebanon eradicate Hezbollah's evil and get back its independence, freedom and prosperity, whoever has information that could promote this purpose, is hereby invited to contact us at one of the addresses listed below. You may enter your personal details, but you can also provide your information anonymously. Secrecy and appropriate financial reward are guaranteed. Any information that will help us restore peace in the area and fight terror carefully and effectively would be welcome. Help us root out this evil and restore normal life to all the people who live in the region. For your own safety, please contact us from places where no one knows you. Two phone numbers are listed along with one Internet address. Some of these operations are mentioned by retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Tim Thomas said in an article entitled "Hezbollah, Israel, and Cyber PSYOP." The LTC invents some interesting words and definitions and I thought it might be worth adding his thoughts: …An evolving cyber phenomenon is underway: the concept of cyber psychological operations—which are cyber operations (those that use the computer chip) that aim to directly attack and influence the attitudes and behaviors of soldiers and the general population. While armies continue to compete in digital battle space, local populations are now caught up in digital influence space battles. As a result armies can no longer stand between an enemy and the public as they once did… During the recent fighting in Lebanon…in addition to the normal leaflet delivery "propaganda bombs," the Israeli's were using "E-flets." What is an E-flet? It is a leaflet type message that appears on the Internet, usually through URL links to a website. In one case, a website gave the appearance of being Lebanese in content (a red, green, and white Lebanese flag). It was accompanied by bombastic patriotic statements to rise against Hezbollah. But the site had a +881 satellite number to call instead of a Lebanese number, and the server was NS.BARAK.NET.IL. On 21 July and again on 23 July, Israeli planes dropped leaflets warning residents to flee for safety beyond the Litani River, about 13 miles from the border. This was made more difficult after an Israeli air strike hit one of the few remaining crossings over the river early the previous day, trapping hundreds of cars on the southern bank. The leaflets say: To the People in the Villages South of al-Litani River Because of terrorist activities made from inside your villages and your homes against the State of Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces must react directly and immediately against these activities inside your villages. You must immediately leave your villages for your safety The State of Israel A second almost identical leaflet was dropped with just two minor additions to make the instructions more clear and tell the Lebanese exactly where the Israelis wanted them to go: To the People in the Villages South of al-Litani River Because of terrorist activities made from inside your villages and your homes against the State of Israel. The Israel Defense Forces must respond directly and immediately against these activities inside your villages. For your safety!!! You are ordered to immediately evacuate your villages and move north of the al-Litani River . The State of Israel On 22 July, Israeli planes dropped leaflets over the southern city of Tyre. The leaflets depict Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah hiding behind a Lebanese family represented by a husband, wife and son in bondage. The husband clearly represents Lebanon since a cedar tree is depicted on his shirt. The text is: Your defenders are your destroyers There is a second version of this leaflet that is almost identical except that it contains one added line. That leaflet was dropped on 25 July. Two more all-text leaflets were dropped on 23 July. One was the warning leaflet for residents to flee for safety beyond the Litani River first dropped on 21 July, the other is an all text leaflet. To Hezbollah Supporters Hassan continues to mislead you Hassan is claiming that the leadership of Hezbollah is determined to work for your safety but why doesn't he show himself to you instead of hanging his picture around Beirut? Where is Naeem Qassim? Where is Ibrahim Amin Alsayed? Where is Hashim Safeydeen? Hassan says that only one or two rocket launchers have been destroyed. If Hassan came out of his hideout for a second, he would know that many rocket launchers have been destroyed and many people have died. In his latest speech, Hassan attacked Arab leaders and ignored the international community. Is this what you want for Lebanon? To be isolated, surrounded and entirely under the mercy of Syria and Iran? The only truth in his speech is that this is only the start. The three individuals named, also known as "Naeem Qassim," "Ibrahim Ameen Al Sayyed" and "Hashim Safa El Deen" are the senior leadership of Hezbollah. Leaflets were dropped on Sidon, south Lebanon, on 24 July. Fragments of an American-made antiquated M129 leaflet bomb were found and numerous photographs of the fragment were published around the world. The same leaflet was dropped again on 30 July. The text is reported to be: To Hezbollah militia activists : Do you really think that the battlefield looks like the propaganda clips on Al-Manar TV, and that you could sprint so fast and easily up the highest hills? Did you believe your leaders, who told you that those facing you are nothing but spider webs easily torn down by you? They lied to you all these years; they are lying to you now. You know very well that you were sent like sheep to be butchered, lacking military training and without proper combat gear. You know very well that the reassuring words of your leaders are not sufficient for a resilient stand against highly trained soldiers that fight to protect their homeland, their people and their home. You are nothing but mercenaries, and the Lebanese people do not support you. Run as far as you can, save your souls. [Note: Al-Manar (The Beacon) is a television station based in Beirut, Lebanon. It was launched by Hezbollah in 1991 with funding from Iran. Al-Manar calls itself the "station of resistance," and is instrumental in what Hezbollah calls its psychological warfare against the Israelis. In 2004, the station was estimated to be viewed by 10-15 million people daily worldwide. Its programming is geared to keep the Arab world focused on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the US occupation of that country.] At the same time, The Guardian Unlimited published a report that Israel is directing a multimedia propaganda campaign at the besieged people of Southern Lebanon. Mobile phone users are being bombarded with text messages and phone calls, and a local radio station has suddenly had reports broadcast from the Israeli government's point of view. Each day Israeli planes drop "propaganda bombs", which burst to send leaflets fluttering down on to streets and rooftops. Leaflets dropped yesterday morning described the Hezbollah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as a coward who hid in a cave while the Lebanese people suffered the consequences of his actions. "He has attacked Arab leaders and ignored the international community; is this what you want for Lebanon?" it asked.

Meanwhile mobile phone users regularly receive messages sent to their phones which appear as news updates, attempting to discredit Nasrallah or the party he leads. Titled "News." a message sent early yesterday reported that the Hezbollah leader had prepared a secure bunker for himself and other senior Hezbollah officials to flee to in Syria. The Israeli forces have also resurrected the old Voice of Lebanon radio station, once operated by Israel's military ally the South Lebanon Army before it was defeated by Hezbollah in 2000. Previously funded by Israel, frequency 103.7 is once again broadcasting the Israeli line. "Why do those people blame Israel for defending itself against terrorism?" the commentator asks in Arabic. "Why should we let terrorists bomb our homes?" Another interesting leaflet dropped on 24 July is probably the only one produced by the Israelis in both black and white and full color. It uses an old adage to warn the Lebanese people that creatures that kill cannot change their nature. The light-green leaflet depicts Hassan as a scorpion crossing a river on the back of a frog, symbolically Lebanon. The frog asks the scorpion: Why, why are you stinging me? Hassan answers: To sting is my nature. This leaflet is based on an old Aesop's fable: The Scorpion and the Frog A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too." The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown, but has just enough time to gasp "Why?" Replies the scorpion: "It's my nature..." According to a 1967 edition of Reader's Digest, There is a Lebanese version of the story that tells of a scorpion on the bank of the Nile who asked a frog to ferry him to the other side with the same results. In another Lebanese version of the story the frog swam across the Jordan River. Half way across the Jordan, the scorpion fatally stung the frog. When asked "Why did you do that?" the scorpion responded with the wisdom of the ages: "It's the Middle East." The meaning of the Israeli leaflet is clear. No matter how generous Hezbollah is, how much money they give to the poor, how much food they distribute to the hungry, or how much they claim to be a legitimate political party, they are simply killers and will never change. As we stated earlier, the second version of the Nasrallah hiding behind the Lebanese family with added text was dropped on 25 July. At the same time, the Israelis reminded the international press that they had asked the Lebanese to leave the area for their safety. The text to the right of the vignette is: To all citizens south of the Litani River Due to the terror activities being carried out against the State of Israel from within your villages and homes, the IDF is forced to respond immediately against these activities, even within your villages. For your safety!!! We call upon you to evacuate your villages for your safety and move north of the Litani River . The State of Israel On 26 July a leaflet showing the Hezbollah leader behind a spider web was dropped by Israeli aircraft. He promised you that Israel would be a spider's web... but he encountered a web of steel. (Note) In another Israeli leaflet we see a similar statement: Hassan, have you realized yet that the Israeli army not as delicate as a spider's web? It's a web of steel that will strangle you! Problems with the United Nations UNIFIL force started to appear about the end of July. Some of these are mentioned in the Harvard University paper, The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006: The Media as a Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict, Marvin Kalb, February, 2007. The author states: UNIFIL was the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. It consisted of roughly 2,000 troops stationed along the Lebanese-Israeli border from 1978 until the end of the 2006 war. Its mandate required "full impartiality and objectivity." During the war, it published information on its official website about Israeli troop movements, information that in military circles might well be regarded as "actionable intelligence." Take, for instance, its posting of July 25, 2006: "Yesterday and during last night, the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) moved significant reinforcements, including a number of tanks, armored personnel carriers, bulldozers and infantry, to the area of Marun Al Ras inside Lebanese territory. The IDF advanced from that area north towards Bint Jubayl and south towards Yarun." Or, it's posting of July 24, which disclosed that IDF forces stationed between Marun Al Ras and Bint Jubayl were "significantly reinforced during the night and this morning with a number of tanks and armored personnel carriers." It was part of UNIFIL's responsibility to report violations of the ceasefire, including troop movements, to the U.N., but presumably this information was to be conveyed through confidential channels, not on the Internet, where the information in wartime could be as valuable as hard, military intelligence suddenly exposed to the light. On 26 July, Israel dropped leaflets on Sidon listing the names of nine Hezbollah fighters it claimed were killed in the battles. Quote from Nasrallah: "We don't have any dead or wounded." [Nine headstones with the names of dead Hezbollah fighters] This is only a partial list! He continues to deceive you! (Note) The Israelis will later drop leaflets mentioning 90 and 180 dead. One wonders if the number 9 has any special significance. Israeli TV also broadcast footage of troops transporting corpses in body bags which the military said were the bodies of Hezbollah fighters. Meanwhile, Israel managed to intercept the satellite transmissions of Hezbollah's al-Manar TV channel, replacing it with Israeli transmissions that reportedly showed Hezbollah command sites and rocket launching pads which Israel claimed it has raided. Israeli technicians hacked the signal and replaced it with a 90-second spot that begins with a gun sight superimposed on a crude drawing of Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, looking at the ground. The image is punctuated by the sound of three gunshots and framed on the top with the words, "Your day is coming, coming, coming." The spot goes on to show Sheik Nasrallah giving a speech in which a voice says: "There is no doubt that this is the strongest air force in the area. And we can't stand up against it." It features the view from Israeli bombers striking targets in Lebanon and ends with an announcer saying, "Nasrallah knows the truth, but he continues, as is his way, to drag Lebanon into destruction, to throw sand in your eyes." The New York Sun adds: Part of this is to instill fear," the former senior Israel Defense Force official said. "This is mostly aimed at the Hezbollah operative. This is instilling fear." The official added, however, that the most effective part of the message was that it proved Israel could take over Hezbollah's primary instrument of propaganda. "If you could destroy Al-Manar, which we all know is a platform for destroying psychological order, it is one thing. But better than destroying it is using it against them," the official said. The London Times stated on 28 July that Israel had encouraged Jewish students to track websites and chat rooms so that networks of US and European groups with hundreds of thousands of Jewish activists can place supportive messages. Nearly 5,000 members of the World Union of Jewish Students have downloaded special "megaphone" software that alerts them to anti-Israeli chat rooms or internet polls to enable them to post contrary viewpoints. "We're saying to these people that if Israel is being bashed, don't ignore it, change it," Mr. Cline said. "A poll like CNN's takes just a few seconds to vote in, but if thousands take part the outcome will be changed. What's vital is that the international face of the conflict is balanced - Our problem is the foreign media shows Lebanese suffering, but not Israeli. We're bypassing that filter by distributing pictures showing how northern Israelis suffer from Katyusha rocket attacks." An Israeli attack on the village of Qana was heavily propagandized by Hezbollah because of the heavy death toll of more than 50 people killed, many of them children. One man removed the blanket covering his daughter's dead body and asked: "Is this a Hezbollah fighter? Are these missiles?" Many men yelled in the streets: "It's America, its Israel." What is most interesting about this atrocity is that there is an excellent possibility that it is a Hezbollah disinformation operation. If so, it was very well done. Some of the discrepancies claimed for the photographs are the body count not holding up to reported 57, Hezbollah might have been launching rockets from the top of the building that was destroyed, discrepancies in published photographs of rescue operations (time stamps, evidence of staging), and photos and video that seem to show Hezbollah operating among the general population, using them as human shields. Qana had been the site of a previous massacre, so it would be a perfect propaganda operation to cause an uprising of hate among the Muslim people. However, you must remain cognizant that the concept of calling this a Hezbollah disinformation campaign might be, in fact, an Israeli disinformation campaign, so you pick your side and you hope that you are correct. On 3 August 2006, Human Rights Watch specifically accused Israel of war crimes. The entire concept of the Israelis hitting civilian targets with an indiscriminate callousness amounting to war crimes can be called into question by simply reading Hezbollah's own admissions. On 27 May, Sheik Nasrallah had publicly stated that the guerrillas were hiding among the civilians: Hezbollah fighters live in their houses, in their schools, in their churches, in their fields, in their farms and in their factories. You can't destroy them in the same way you would destroy an army. Has the news been manipulated? Yes, there was a case of a Reuters photographer fired after one of the photographs by Adnan Hajj showed the aftermath of an Israeli air strike on an area of suburban Beirut. It had been manipulated using Adobe PhotoShop software to show more and darker smoke rising from the buildings. There were many comments from both sides after this photographer was found to have manipulated another photograph showing an Israeli jet fighter. However, it must be remembered that he did not originate the photo; he simply added smoke to add contrast. It was a disturbing reminder that news photos can be tinkered with. There are numerous other cases of photo fraud. A New York Times slide show depicts two photos of a man assisting at the scene of a Beirut bombing. He later pretends to be a dead man lying in the rubble. An Associated Press photo shows the same Arab woman wailing about the destruction of her home by the Israelis on both 26 July and 5 August. U.S. News & World Report shows a photo of what they claim is a Hezbollah fighter near a downed Israeli jet that is clearly burning automobile tires at a dump. Other photos use emotional additions to increase the dramatic effect. Four different published photos from major news services such as Reuters and the Associated Press all show bombed buildings in the background, while in the foreground we see pristine and perfectly clean objects such as a wedding dress, a child's stuffed bear, Mickey Mouse and finally Minnie Mouse. One Associated Press newscast showed no less than three pristine stuffed toys sitting in the ruins of a bombed building. It is clear that many of these pictures taken by Arab photographers are meant to increase sympathy for Hezbollah. Kalb points out: Ravi Nessman, the senior Jerusalem correspondent of the Associated Press, thought the influence of the bloggers, especially in the United States, was "unprecedented." When the bloggers discovered that photographs had been doctored, "the credibility of the bloggers…skyrocketed and our credibility plummeted. After that everything that we did was suspect. And that makes it very difficult to cover a war, to have honest people who are trying, who are not doctoring photographs…and have everything we say be examined, which is fair, but basically be questioned as a lie, and starting with that premise that the media is lying." The history of faked photos emanating from Lebanon goes back many years. Dino A. Brugioni says in Photo Fakery, Brassey's, Virginia, 1999: Palestinians working out of Beirut released a number of fake photos, many condemning the Israelis and other opponents. As early as 1977 at its Oslo meeting, The International Press Institute examined fake photographs and captions coming from Beirut. One photo of a supposed Israeli air raid made the front page of the Washington Post. Careful examination of the photos shows that the bombers were mirror images. Experts also concluded that the Israeli bomber shown could not have executed such a maneuver so close to the ground. Another photo, which was awarded a prize in 1977, bore the caption, "One can see how an old Palestinian woman is begging a Phalangist soldier not to separate her from her children, while the Beirut area of quarantine is burning and small children are raising their hands." However, the uniformed soldier can be identified as Palestinian by his weapon and American M-1. The Phalangists were armed with AK-47s. The Lebanese Prime Minister was caught in what was either a case of hyperbole or just and unfounded statement. He declared that Israel had perpetrated a "massacre" and killed 40 people in the town of Houla. Later, he was forced to admit that only one person had died. When the atrocity news is broadcast everyone hears it, but I suspect that when the apologies are submitted few people hear them. Hezbollah also placed red banners on bomb debris with messages like, "Made in the U.S." and "Smart bombs for imbeciles." The Israelis disseminated an all-text leaflet on 29 July. The same leaflet was dropped again on 1 August, 4 August, 5 August and 12 August. The leaflet says in part: To the Citizens of Southern Lebanon The situation in southern Lebanon will continue to be dangerous as long as the Army of the State of Lebanon and the United Nations forces are not deployed on all of the territory of southern Lebanon. For your safety! We warn you to avoid the southern area until the deployment of the forces which are tasked with your protection and security in this area. The State of Israel For the most part every leaflet I show in this article is a mint copy from the Israeli military. I thought it might be nice to show the reader what a leaflet actually looks like after it has been on the ground for a while in the rain. As you can see, once out in the weather the leaflet does not look nearly as nice as our filed examples. The above leaflet was also dropped on 29 July. The text is: To the Citizens of Lebanon Hassan promised you that Israel would be a "spider web," and then was surprised when he collided with the state of Israel and its army to find it was a "web of steel." Hassan promised you that Israel would be afraid to retaliate for the attack on it's sovereignty but was surprised at the strength of the attack against him and his party, and of the strength of the Israeli Defense Forces and State of Israel. Citizen of Lebanon. Hassan ignited the fire like a child playing with matches, and thought that he would achieve his goals and his ignoble master's goals, but discovered that the fire of the Israeli Defense Force was much stronger than he had anticipated. Hassan continues to play his game and continues to destroy Lebanon. Will he understand that he was wrong and end your suffering and dispair? The State of Israel Another all-text leaflet was dropped on 30 July. It was the same leaflet first dropped on 24 July. A longer all-text message was dropped on 31 July: Calling Hezbollah Militia to drop their weapons and surrender The Israeli Defense Force is determined to eliminate the rocket threat toward the State of Israel and stop terrorism from Lebanon. The Israeli Defense Force will continue to work for as long as possible with all their strength to clear South Lebanon of rocket and terrorist bases. The Israeli Defense Force's operations in Maron A-Ras, Bint Jbeil and al-Tiba are merely examples of what the IDF can do. Hezbollah Militia in Southern Lebanon. Your respectable leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is protected in an underground shelter, in his cave with his family and friends. Some people say that he ran far, far away to a territory where the sound of artillery cannot be heard, while you bleed and fight for him against the Lebanese national interest. We are asking you wherever you are to stop for one minute, and think for whose interest you are fighting? To reach the correct answer and drop your weapons and immediately stop fighting the Israeli Defense Force and return home to your families safe and unharmed while you still can. Hezbollah Militia: Your lives are very precious and more valuable than Iran and the "goal" you are dying for. They are very precious in the eyes and hearts of your mothers and sons, so safeguard your lives for the sake of them and for their future.

Note: On 25 July the Israeli Defense Force occupied the area stretching between the village of Maron al-Ras (Maroun al-Ras) and the town of Bint Jbeil (Bent Jubail) in the central region of southern Lebanon. The victory came after a week of hard fighting. The Israeli Army, paratroopers, and armored corps forces with aerial backup completed the takeover with the loss of nine Israelis soldiers. Lieutenant Colonel Itzik Ronen of the 7th Armored Division said: We are currently occupied with collecting evidence, the bodies of Hezbollah terrorists, and conducting interviews, while preparing for the next stage. A third all-text leaflet was dropped on 1 August. It is the same leaflet first dropped on 29 July. On 2 August, Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets over Nabatiyeh in south Lebanon calling on Hezbollah guerrillas to surrender and warning them that "we will get you wherever you flee." The leaflets were dropped a day after Israeli commandos stormed a Hezbollah-run hospital in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, where Israel said it killed 10 guerrillas and captured five. The leaflet text is: To Hezbollah Israeli Defense Forces worked courageously and strongly against the hideouts of your gang in Baalbek last night. You should know that you will not be able to run away and we will get you wherever you go, whether over or underground. Your leaders have abandoned you and fled after sending you to death for the sake of foreign interests. You have only one alternative: SURRENDER! The State of Israel The Israelis dropped two all-text leaflets on 3 August. The text of one is: To Beirut Residents Due to the continued launching of wild firing rockets by the terrorist Hezbollah gang toward the state of Israel, and following the gang leader's declarations, that continue to gamble on Lebanon's future - the Israel Defense Force intends to widen its activities in the suburbs of Beirut. Residents of Haret Hreik, Beer al-Abed, Hay Madi and Alweis For your own safety! You must immediately leave these suburbs as well as any place in which Hezbollah terrorist elements or their followers are taking part in terrorist activities. Attention! The expansion of terrorist operations by Hezbollah will lead to a painful and harsh response by the Israel Defense Force and the results will be painful not only for Hassan's gang and its criminals. The State of Israel To the People of Lebanon The Israel Defense Force acted strongly and courageously in Balbak, the Hezbollah guerrilla terrorist's center, to protect the people of Israel and return the kidnapped Israel Defense Force. You should know that the Israel Defense Force will continue to extend its operations wherever there are terrorists from Hezbollah to stop them from carrying out their ideology of terror against the people of Israel. People of Lebanon The Israel Defense Force is not working against the people of Lebanon but against the terrorist guerilla fighters of Hezbollah, and will continue to operate for as long as needed. Don't allow Hezbollah to hold you hostage and use you as a human shield for the benefit of foreign countries. The State of Israel Note: The Israelis bombed Balbak (also called Baalbak) on 31 July and 1 August and landed commandoes by helicopter next to Dar al-Hekmah Hospital. The Israeli commandos snatched five suspected Hezbollah guerrillas in the helicopter raid. The Israelis raided the same town a second time a week after the ceasefire to prevent the smuggling of weapons from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah. That 19 August commando raid was less successful and an Israeli Defense Force officer was killed; another officer sustained serious injuries in the operation, while a third was lightly wounded. The Independent wrote on 4 August that: Israeli aircraft had earlier bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut ­ an area where Hezbollah bases itself ­ and dropped leaflets warning civilian residents in three neighborhoods to leave. The army had indicated on Wednesday that it would be for the cabinet to decide on a resumption of bombing in Beirut's heavily populated southern neighborhoods. On 4 August it was reported that Israeli military dropped leaflets over the Lebanese city of Sidon asking residents to leave their homes and move north and warning that Hezbollah rocket launching sites were about to be targeted. An Israeli army spokesman said that "We dropped leaflets warning residents to leave because the army will attack Hezbollah rocket launching sites in Sidon." We have no record of such a drop occurring on that date. On 8 August, Israeli aircraft dropped all-text leaflets over Tyre explaining that any cars seen moving in southern Lebanon on the roads south of the Litani River will be targeted. The text is: To Lebanese citizens located south of the Litani River Read this statement carefully and follow its instructions The Israeli Defense Forces will escalate their operations and strike with extreme force against the terrorist elements that are using you as human shields and firing rockets from inside your homes at the state of Israel. Any vehicles, no matter what type, moving south of the Litani River will be bombed, because they will be suspected of transporting rockets, military supplies or saboteurs. You must be aware that anyone moving in any vehicle is exposing his life to danger. The State of Israel Meanwhile, Hezbollah struck back with its own propaganda campaign on 8 August. The terrorist organization handed out bundles of Iranian-supplied cash to people whose homes were wrecked by Israeli bombing. This campaign was aimed at consolidating the Iranian-backed group's support among Lebanon's Shiites and embarrassing the Beirut government. Individuals whose homes were bombed were handed $12,000 in banknotes wrapped in tissue paper. On 9 August, the Israelis dropped leaflets on Tyre criticizing Hezbollah leader Nasrallah. The skies above the abandoned city of Tyre were alive with warplanes, surveillance drones and attack helicopters. The only way into Tyre is to wade across a river outside the city, since Israel bombed the makeshift bridge connecting it to the main road north. Leaflets dropped on those who chose not to flee said anyone seen on the streets would now be deemed a runner for Hezbollah. An Israeli plane dropped a canister scattering propaganda leaflets which said: To Lebanese Citizens Why has Hassan attacked the State of Israel? Is it for freeing Lebanese detainees from Israeli jails? Hassan could have released them a long time ago through serious negotiation without bringing disaster to Lebanon. Hassan has gambled dangerously and returned with nothing. Hassan is playing with fire and now Lebanon is burning. Hassan has gambled with your future and now you are paying the price. The State of Israel. On 10 August, Israeli forces bombed the heart of the Lebanese capitol for the first time in three weeks. They warned that the Israeli Defense Forces intended to expand their operations in Beirut and blamed "the leader of the gang" - an apparent reference to Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who made a taped television address the night before. They air-dropped leaflets over Beirut warning the residents of these suburbs to evacuate. At the same time, Israeli forces took control of the strategic southern hub of Marjayoun and warned that its fight against Hezbollah could grow wider and more severe if diplomacy fails. The leaflet is the same one first dropped on 3 August, "To Beirut Residents." At the same time, Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets over northern Lebanon for the first time. They warned that all trucks must be off the roads by 8:00 p.m. The leaflets fell north of Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, some 25 kilometers from the Syrian border. The blanketed area includes the Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi. The leaflet said in part: Any pick-up or truck of any kind moving on the coastal road as of 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) will be attacked because it is suspected of carrying rockets, military hardware and saboteurs. You must know that anyone who moves in a pick-up or truck is endangering his life. The State of Israel It was unclear whether the curfew would be 24-hours a day, starting on Thursday night, or whether it was only a night-time ban on traffic. On 11 August, Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets on the port city of Sidon and the capitol city of Beirut accusing Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah of hiding facts about the "great losses" among the Hezbollah fighters. The leaflet contained "the first list" of names of more than 90 (other reports say "100") alleged Hezbollah members killed in fighting with Israeli troops. The leaflet said Nasrallah was "killing your children for nothing." Hezbollah replied that only 58 of its guerrillas died in clashes since Israel began its onslaught on Lebanon on July 12 in response to a cross-border raid by the Shiite militia. Israel claims a total of about 300 Hezbollah guerrillas. Some of the text is: Nasrallah is cheating you and hiding from you the great losses in the ranks of Hezbollah members. The following is a list of some names of those killed whom Nasrallah has abandoned and denied their deaths. Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets over Lebanon's capital for a third straight day on 12 August, calling on residents to "shake off" Hezbollah. The leaflet depicted Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah peeking out from the branches of a cedar tree, Lebanon's national symbol. At about the same time the Israelis were dropping scented car fresheners with the same vignette. The text said in part: Shake off your shoulders the destroyer of Lebanon. You can return the cedar odor to Lebanon if you want to!!! They also dropped two all text leaflets. The Israelis dropped leaflets over West Beirut. Many were carried out to sea by a south wind. The leaflets warned Nasrallah to leave Lebanon. The message was that Hezbollah is the source of Lebanon's problems. This leaflet is the one first dropped on 29 July and then on four subsequent dates. The IDF also hacked broadcasts of Hezbollah radio and television with recordings announcing the names of the dead Hezbollah members. One radio message stated: Hassan sent men to fight the Israeli army, an army of steel, without preparing them. Stop listening to patriotic chants for a moment, think about it and come back to Earth. They also cut into television broadcasts to show Israeli air attacks on Hezbollah strongholds and even cockpit camera pictures. In one instance they showed a dead guerrilla while the announcer stated: This is the corpse of one of the members of Hezbollah's Special Forces. Hassan Nasrallah lies. We're not the ones who are hiding the real numbers of our dead. Al Manar Television admitted that the Israelis had succeeded in creating static and other signal interruptions at least 10 times and had managed to broadcast their own images for a few minutes on three occasions. The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that the hacking was the work of the army's intelligence corps. Hezbollah retaliated, broadcasting Al Manar television from hidden locations despite repeated Israeli bombings. It repeated Israeli fears about the war. Hassan Nasrallah said: They do not want their people and our own people to see the magnitude of the human, material and moral losses they suffered in this war. This is part of the psychological warfare employed by the enemy. These are facts that the enemy cannot hide from its people or from us or from the entire world for a long time. Al Manar also told its viewers that Israel lied about how many Lebanese fighters had been killed, how many Hezbollah rockets had been seized and which Lebanese villages had been captured. It also aired an image of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert bearing a Hitler-like mustache, pictures of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and images of President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. To the people of Beirut As a result of the Hezbollah's continued launching of missiles towards Israel and the statements of the leader of this group who continues to gamble the future of Lebanon, the Israel Defense Force intends to expand its operation in Beirut. Districts of Harik, Ber Abd, Rwais, Burj Barjina, Salam, Shyah, Gabiri, Sfair, and Rodof. For your safety! You have to evacuate the above areas at once and every site where there are Hezbollah members or their supporters. Be aware!! The expansion of the terrorist operations of Hezbollah will lead to a painful retaliation, and not only against Hassan's members. The State of Israel