ISRAELI PROPAGANDA
RAIDS ON LEBANON

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 capital 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.

Hezbollah fighters

Israeli Leaflet - 11 August

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.

Nasrallah in a Tree Leaflet

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!!!

Israeli Leaflet - 12 August

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 guerilla 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 Marie 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 HUD 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.

Israeli leaflet - 13 August

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

Israeli Leaflet - 14 August

Two hours before a cease-fire went into effect on Monday morning 14 August, the IDF dropped leaflets on central Beirut warning it will retaliate for any attack launched against it from Lebanon. One leaflet said in part:

To Lebanese Citizens

Hezbollah, which is serving its Iranian and the Syrian masters, has driven you to the edge of the abyss.

With its isolationist, reckless and false policy, Hezbollah has brought you many achievements: hopelessness, destruction, displacement and death.

Can you pay this price again?

Let it be known!

The Israeli Defense Forces will return and retaliate with the required force against any terrorist act that is launched from Lebanon to harm the State of Israel.

The State of Israel

Building castles of illusion...

Israel also dropped leaflets on 14 August depicting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah building a sand castle threatened by a huge wave. The leaflets were planned to be dropped one hour before the cease-fire took effect. A Beirut resident says that he caught one of the leaflets in the air at 0900 that morning in front of the St. George Hotel. The text is:

Hezbollah's path is what destroyed Lebanon.

“He built me a castle of illusions where I can only live for a few moments, then I sit at the table with nothing ... but words.”

It is interesting to note that the text of the song is from the words of a popular Lebanese singer, Magda Al-Roumi. The Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani describes in his poem “Kalimat” (“words”) the disappointment a woman feels towards her lover, who built her a castle of dreams, made only of words and not of real and concrete things.  The implication is that like the girl’s lover, Nasrallah’s speeches to the Lebanese people builds an illusionary castle made of nothing but words and lies. This illusionary castle brought upon Lebanon death and destruction. 

This is not the first time an Arabic song was used in a propaganda leaflet. During Operation Desert Storm the 4th PSYOP Group with the aid of Saudi propagandists disseminated a leaflet showing an Iraqi soldier carrying Saddam Hussein on his back. A Jordanian master sergeant attached to my unit saw the leaflet and started humming a tune. When I asked him why he was humming, he said that the text was a parody of a popular Iraqi song telling of a man's difficulties with his love.

I crossed the Shatt al Arab as you wished, and I obeyed your orders.

I feel death at the door, I feel I am at my last breath and I sigh deeply.

  

Cedar tree deodorizer

It was not only propaganda leaflets that the Israelis dropped on Lebanon. They also dropped at least one cedar-scented automobile deodorizer in the shape of the national symbol of Lebanon, the cedar tree. The propaganda aspect was the tiny head of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah peeking out from behind the tree, symbolically hiding behind and among the people of Lebanon. One report stated that “Hundreds of people were scrambling the streets to pick up the Cedars…If anyone is reading this from the Israeli Defense Forces; you have to know that these are the sort of creative things that work...It's much better than throwing leaflets with a list of the names of 100 Hezbollah soldiers dead.” There is a brief text at the bottom of the air freshener that quotes a well-known Lebanese idiomatic expression that means “get away from us,” but also means:

Let's part with a good smell

I spoke to a source in Lebanon who told me that the air fresheners were very popular. However, as we have seen in recent conflicts where soldiers and civilians were told that enemy leaflets had been laced with infectious disease, apparently there was an attempt on the part of Hezbollah to convince the Lebanese that the air fresheners had been irradiated by the Israelis and were deadly to handle.

Ron Schleifer Adds:

Israel sought to persuade the latter that the organization was a foreign agent busy pursuing an agenda that had little to do with Lebanon's true interests. To this end, the MALAT, in addition to bombarding Lebanon with various standard paper leaflets, all banging away at this theme, showered Beirut with thousands of car air-fresheners in the shape of a cedar tree, Lebanon's national symbol, with Nasrallah's head cowering from behind the tree. It had several layers of meaning. Nasrallah was once again hiding behind and endangering Lebanon’s population. On the bottom of the air-freshener was printed a pun, "Let’s part with a good smell," which also means in Arabic "evaporate." Finally, if there was anyone left who somehow still failed to get the message, the air freshener was accompanied by a leaflet pointing out that: "It is up to you to allow the fresh clean scent of cedars to fill Lebanon once again." According to the Lebanese blog "Beirut Live," in marked contrast to the fate of the bog-standard PSYOP leaflets, which were gathered and burned almost immediately, the Lebanese swooped on the Israeli air-fresheners. For a few months, thousands of Lebanese would have a conscious and subconscious reminder of who was using them as bait.

Note: The IDF body in charge of conducting PSYOP is called the MALAT, (The Center for Consciousness or Perception Operations). Currently part of the Army GHQ Operations Department, the MALAT was established in 2005, Israel’s previous PSYOP unit having been practically disbanded some six years earlier by the head of military intelligence. Forced to start virtually from scratch, the MALAT drafted into its ranks both intelligence officers and psychologists who began exploring the possibilities inherent in the use of PSYOP in wartime.

Israel silenced its big guns and called back its aircraft at 0800 on 14 August as the U.N. brokered cease-fire with Hezbollah took effect. Up until the last moment it had battered Beirut and south Lebanon with artillery in a final frenzied offensive -- capped by an Israeli air force leaflet drop that warned the Lebanese it would retaliate if Hezbollah attacked. Hezbollah had returned the favor, firing 220 rockets into northern Israel and attempting to send a truck bomb into the Israeli city of Metulla as the cease fire approached. Israel suffered more than 130 killed, 41 of them civilians during the 34 days and more than 3,500 Hezbollah rocket attacks,. At the same time, Lebanon reported more than 1,000 civilians killed in Israeli air strikes and ground battles. Israel claimed it killed more than 550 Hezbollah fighters. A senior air force source said that since the start of fighting, the force had carried out more than 10,000 sorties:

Our main mission was the disruption of the rocket attacks against Israel, mainly the long-range rocket capabilities of Hezbollah, and our successes have been substantial. We have also flown hundreds of infantry and evacuated dozens of injured - both complex and dangerous missions.

The Last Israeli Leaflet of the War - 15 August

Lebanese civilians began returning to their homes in the south as soon as the cease-fire took effect. The Israelis felt this could lead to further deaths since the Lebanese Army and UN peace-keeping troops had not yet occupied the areas formally used as Hezbollah strongholds. Should Hezbollah fire rockets into Israel, retribution and retaliation is sure. As a result, the IDF dropped leaflets on 15 August warning residents displaced by the month-long conflict not to return home before the deployment of the Lebanese army. Leaflets were reported over the port city of Tyre and the city of Nabatiyeh about 13 kilometers from the Israeli border.

To the people of Southern Lebanon

The situation in the south will remain dangerous as long as the State of Lebanon has not deployed the Lebanese military and international forces in all the territories in the south of Lebanon.

For your safety!

We warn you not to head to the south before the deployment of the forces that are supposed to safeguard your security in that area.

The leadership of the Israeli Defense Force.

There are still occasional reports of previously unknown Israeli leaflets distributed over Lebanon. In one recent study of the war the author stated that Israel dropped leaflets in the south of Lebanon ridiculing Hezbollah’s patriot slogan in an attempt to erode its popular support. What was originally:

The Resistance protects the Nation, the Nation protects the Resistance.Was changed to:

The Resistance protects the Nation; the Nation is the victim of the Resistance.

An Unknown Leaflet - To Hezbollah Elements

At the time of the invasion I believed that I had seen just about all of the Israeli propaganda leaflets through my contacts with the Israeli military forces. However, I do say above that there were reports of others. In 2015, I received several tattered leaflets from a Belgian who had been in Lebanon during the short war. One of the leaflets he found on the streets had a message I had not seen before. It is a morale leaflet that tells the fighters that their leaders have abandoned them, and recommends that they follow their leader’s actions and desert. We have no data on when it was dropped. The message on the leaflet is:

To Hezbollah Elements

For whom are you willing to fight and sacrifice your lives?

For those who have left you alone in the heat of battle and without supplies while you are hungry?

For those who have condemned you to death and who are actually the enemy without honor and nobility?

Your leaders have betrayed you!!!

Many of your comrades who will not sacrifice [their lives] have fled the battlefield

Join them

Surrender or get as far away as possible and save yourselves

Headquarters, Israel Defense Forces

Hezbollah Psychological Operations

Once the war was over and it became apparent that Hezbollah had fought the Israelis to a stand-still, there were dozens of articles published in various military articles attempting to analyze how the Guerillas had managed to fight the better equipped and better armed Israeli Defense Force. Frederick M. Wehrey wrote an article entitled “A Clash of Wills: Hizballah’s Psychological Campaign Against Israel in South Lebanon” for Small Wars and Insurgencies. Wehrey spoke about the conflict prior to the 2006 war, but his facts are still relevant. He said:

Although Hizballah continually debates its strategic and ideological orientation, three major trends are discernible in its effort to mobile the Shiites: the use of Iranian revolutionary doctrine, the propagation of a martyrdom ethos, and the provision of social services.

…Hezbollah’s strategy of psychological warfare confounded Israel’s efforts to defeat the movement through firepower alone…would seem to validate Sun Tzu’s timeless counsel: “One need not destroy one’s enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage.

Ron Scheifer adds in an article entitled “Psychological Operations: a New Variation on an Age-old Art: Hezbollah versus Israel, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism:

The visual media proved one of Hezbollah’s most effective weapons. Stills, videos, and film became so central to the organization’s military activities that it might reasonably be claimed that they dictated both its overall strategy and daily operations. Indeed, the organization’s motto could be summed up in the words: “If you haven’t captured it on film you haven’t fought.”

It was not conventional military thinking that determined what Hezbollah would attack and why, with the traditional military goals of gaining control of territory, acquiring intelligence, or destroying military equipment, giving way to PSYOP-oriented objectives. When deciding on and planning an operation the organization would calculate its psychological impact on the enemy.

Hezbollah targeted Israel’s allies, the Southern Lebanese Army (SLA). It declared that any SLA member deserting would receive an automatic amnesty. In addition, if they had joined the Christian army for financial reasons, Hezbollah promised them a generous bonus when they defected.

Hezbollah

Hezbollah also produced leaflets. On one occasion they prepared leaflets for the Israeli Arabs living in Haifa and warned them to leave the city immediately or risk being killed by rockets. At the time, about 40% of all the victims of the Hezbollah rockets were Israeli Arabs.

The New York Sun pointed out that:

Hezbollah has a special unit that specializes in communication and psychological warfare. This unit is dealing with al-Manar in the promotion of the image of Hezbollah. For many years, they have been strong, using television to try to demolish the morale of the soldiers and the population of Israel. They were filming their terror operations, for example. One team … specialized in filming the operations. When they were successful, the film was given to everyone in the world. Sheik Nasrallah's recent threat to strike Tel Aviv and a petrochemical facility in Haifa was a form of psychological warfare.

A Lebanese boy holds a Hezbollah leaflet
congratulating Lebanon on its “great victory”

As the cease-fire of 14 August approached, Hezbollah printed and disseminated their own leaflets congratulating Lebanon on its “great victory” and thanking citizens for their patience during the 34-day war with Israel. The leaflets were distributed to cars heading south on the Zahrani highway, which connects the southern cities of Nabatiyeh, Tyre and Sidon. The leaflet said in part: “Congratulations to you on the great victory, with the support of God, the mujahedeen (holy warriors) and your patience." The leaflet warned the readers not to touch any suspicious objects, which could be unexploded ordnance.

Hezbollah Collection Box

Other leaflets captured by the Israelis showed how Hezbollah terrorists raised money in local villages for weapons. The vignette on the leaflet makes it clear that contributions will be used to buy weapons to destroy Israel. The illustrated side of the leaflet depicts coins dropping into a collection box in the form of the Dome of the Rock and dropping out as bullets which shatter the Star of David. There is also a small portrait of Abbas Musawi, the former Hezbollah leader who was killed by Israel. The text is:

So that all our houses may be part of the resistance – This is a resistance collection box – place it in your house.

The other side of the leaflet is all text and states in part:

Your support is a mark of honor, and your participation is pride; together we will defend the homeland.

Hezbollah Children’s kit

Another interesting form of PSYOP product is a kit that contains various propaganda slogans, questions and a subtle indoctrination of children into the Hezbollah philosophy. It also contains a request for donations and an envelope to be used to send the money. We depict one of the propaganda pages of the kit depicting a child waving a Hezbollah flag over an Israeli tank with one hand and making the “V” sign for victory with the other. The text is:

The competition of the youth of victory – 2006

The competition will held to celebrate “Islamic Resistance Week” dedicated to the memory of the deaths as martyrs of two of the organization leaders, Sheikh Ragheb Harb and al-Sayyid Abbas Musawi (and his family).

Mine Awareness Leaflet

The use of propaganda leaflets, flyers and posters does not end with the termination of conflict. As U.N. and civilian organizations moved in to help the nation of Lebanon recover, they produced leaflets warning the population not to touch items that might be undetonated armaments. In the 20 August picture above, Elias Kayyal, an officer of the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Center holds a leaflet depicting unexploded ordinance in the village of Al Bayyadah, southern Lebanon.

Reuters reported on 21 August that the bombing of south Lebanon by Israel had cost tobacco farmers their crop. Farmers in Qana will not go into the hills and valleys around their village because of the danger of unexploded bombs. The farmers were issued leaflets warning them not to approach “strange bodies,” the phrase used by the Lebanese to describe the bombs. According to Reuters, the United Nations estimates that there could be 8,000 to 9,000 unexploded bombs in the south. At the same time, the U.N. is distributing returnee packages to refugees containing water, biscuits, wet towels and re-hydration salts. The United Nations Children’s Fund has printed 50,000 mine awareness leaflets and includes one in each package.

In what may be close to an apology. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on 27 August:

We did not think, even 1% that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on 11 June…that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say No, absolutely not.

This story is probably far from ended. Although there is a cease-fire, it is likely that Israel and Hezbollah will continue to snipe at each other and there will be additional leaflet operations.

Lebanese soldiers stand on the Lebanese side of the border
fence between Lebanon and Israel, Monday, Oct. 2, 2006,
a day after the Israeli army withdrew

On 1 October the Israeli troops in Lebanon abandoned almost all of their positions, a key step toward fulfilling a major condition of the truce that ended the month long war against Hezbollah. The last Israeli soldiers crossed the border at 0230, ahead of the onset of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. The pre-dawn pullout put a formal end to a nearly three-month troop incursion. Some Israeli troops are still in a divided village of Ghajar that straddles the Israel-Lebanon border and Israel said that it would continue surveillance flights, which both Lebanon and the U.N. consider a violation of the border. Israel has been gradually withdrawing troops since the cease-fire went into effect, from a peak of 30,000 during the fighting to several hundred soldiers in recent weeks. Some 10,000 Lebanese soldiers and more than 5,000 U.N. troops have been deployed in the south to keep the peace and disarm Hezbollah. Now that the Israelis have left, 15,000 UNIFIL soldiers are expected to patrol the border with an equal number of Lebanese Army troops.

Since the end of the war Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has enlisted advertising agencies to help spread Hezbollah's message. Part of the Islamists' new strategy is a $100,000 advertising blitz called “Divine Victory,” featuring more than 600 billboards around Beirut and Southern Lebanon touting Hezbollah's exploits during the 34-day war. Signs along the road to Beirut from the city’s international airport read “America and its tools have been defeated” in English. A Beirut ad agency firm called Idea Creation designed the campaign. Some principles espoused by the agency:

1. Lower the message density: Get straight to the point. Use a simple message like “Divine Victory” and repeat it over and over.

2. Speak in the lingua franca. Hezbollah’s billboards are in English and bear simple messages like “Made in the U.S.A.” with scenes of bombed buildings.

3. Employ irony. One Hezbollah ad features the slogan “Extremely accurate targets!” juxtaposed against the rubble of Beirut's southern suburbs.

4. Sanitize the images. Depicting bloody bodies can be counterproductive. Show bodies wrapped in blankets, but avoid the most horrific scenes.

Walter S. Adler mentions some of the Hezbollah civil affairs and PSYOP programs in Hezbollah: The Sustainability of Asymmetrical Warfare. He points out that Hezbollah’s “Social Unit” is responsible for a vast network of social welfare programs. For instance, the Holy Struggle Construction Foundation builds hospitals, schools, homes, mosques and agricultural cooperatives for the people. The Martyrs Foundation provides healthcare and education for the families of Hezbollah fighters killed in action. The Foundation for the Wounded and Khomeini Support Committee serve as welfare agencies for civilians hurt during conflicts with Israel.

Wehrey adds:

Hezbollah’s Martyr’s Foundation spent over 90 million over a four-year period on the families of wounded and dead fighters. Following Israel’s air and artillery strikes in 1966, Hezbollah claimed to have rebuilt more than 5,000 Shiite homes in 82 villages and paid compensation to 2,300 farmers. One if its hospitals, better equipped than government facilities treats approximately 60,000 women and 10,000 children each year.

The Psychological warfare arm of Hezbollah is championed by the Al-Manar satellite television station, four radio stations and five newspapers. Hezbollah also broadcasts programs in Hebrew designed to convince Israel of the futility of aggression and occupation. One Hebrew-language show is entitled “Who’s next?” and during the war ran an updated photo gallery of dead Israeli soldiers. Al-Manar established a “Hebrew Observation Department” comprised of Hebrew speakers who monitor Israeli radio and TV broadcasts 24 hours a day. Its primary radio station al-Nur can broadcast in Hebrew into Israel’s central cities. Its newspaper al-Ahd (The Promise) supplements the Party's radio and TV sites. The Internet also serves as a forum for Hezbollah to disseminate the speeches of its major ideologues. Perhaps the most interesting Hezbollah campaign was a video game for Muslim children called “Special Force.” The game allows the children to play an Islamic Resistance Fighter and kill Israeli soldiers and assassinate Israeli politicians. Hezbollah claims sales of 100,000 such games in the Middle East.

Andrew Exum mentions al-Manar in an article entitled “Illegal Attack or Legitimate Target? Israel Attacks al-Manar,” published in Arab Media & Society, February 2007. He points out the relationship between al-Manar and Hezbollah and mentions a music video entitled Death to Israel:

Write in running blood: Death! Death! Death to Israel!
And cause with the exploding body death! Death!
Death to Israel! … From the land of angry
Jerusalem, drive out the raping occupier. Expel from your house that one,
that Zionist humiliated.

Exum adds:

Among the many targets hit by Israel during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict were the headquarters of Al Manar, Hezbollah’s satellite television station. Also destroyed were relay stations in northern Lebanon used to broadcast two other Lebanese television stations, LBC and Al Mustaqbal.

Some Israeli officials have said privately that the Hezbollah campaign is very effective and has helped to win some public opinion over to the side of the organization.

Probably the most threatening lesson to be learned from this short conflict was that slowly and gradually the Western powers are losing their technological edge. Iason Athanasiadis pointed out in Asia Times that:

Israeli electronic warfare systems were unable to jam the systems at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut and they proved unable to jam Hezbollah's command and control links from Lebanon to Iranian facilities in Syria. Hezbollah was able to block the Israeli Barak ship anti-missile system and they hacked into Israeli operations communications in the field. Part of the reason for Hezbollah's decisive battlefield performance was that it was gleaning valuable information by monitoring telephone conversations in Hebrew between Israeli reservists and their families on their personal mobile phones.

Jacob Levich, said in an Aspects of India’s Economy article entitled “A Counter-Revolution in Military Affairs?”

Even more disturbing to US theoreticians, Hezbollah's successful defense of southern Lebanon in 2006 provided evidence that a well-organized guerilla force can beat the high-tech West at its own game. Hezbollah flummoxed Israel's satellite and over-flight intelligence with decoys, developed counter-signals technology that cracked encrypted radio communications, and intercepted key battlefield information simply by listening in on IDF soldiers' cell phone calls to their families.

Anthony H. Cordesman adds in Preliminary Lessons of the Israel – Hezbollah War”

Although Israeli electronic intelligence is close to, or superior to, that available to US force, modern technology does not provide the kind of sensors, protection, and weapons that can prevent a skilled urban force from forcing Israel or the US to fight it largely on its own terms.

The implication seems to be that the American and Israeli belief in the sophistication and invincibility of their high-tech electronics might be a thing of the past. The poorest country can produce excellent hackers.

Dr. Pierre Cyril Pahlavi says in “The 33-Day War: An Example of Psychological Warfare in the Information Age” in The Canadian Army Journal, summer 2007:

Barely had the fighting stopped when it became apparent that the military failure was compounded by economic discomfiture. The initial estimates indicated that the cost of the 33-day war for the Israelis exceeded 4 billion euros, equivalent to 10% of the government budget…the losses related to industrial and tourist activity were approximately 1.2 billion euros, more than 1 % of the gross domestic product…

Studying the Israeli propaganda leaflets I thought that they had done a good job of pointing out that Hezbollah was the villain and cause of the death and destruction in Lebanon. That belief was not universal. Several years later in 2009 when Israel had retaliated against Hamas rocket attacks against southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, Ulrike Putz discussed their propaganda in an article entitled “Psychological Tricks to Demoralize the Enemy” in Spiegel Online International. He said:

It was three years ago that Israel's army launched its department of psychological warfare. But its debut was less than stunning. During the Lebanon war in 2006, Israelis dropped poorly-made leaflets down on Shiite civilians in southern Lebanon. The pamphlets included a simplistic drawing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah cowering behind a cedar tree, Lebanon's national symbol. The clumsily-delivered message was apparently that Lebanon's Shiite militia was hiding behind the country's civilians.

These flyers did not have the desired effect. Instead, the Lebanese showed them to visitors for months on end to show the Israeli army's naiveté. Many wondered whether Israel had honestly thought their pamphlets would change Lebanese minds.

But in the last two and a half years, Israel's army has learned a thing or two about psychological warfare. For one, they've captured the airways -- but for another, they've also improved their flyers. Pamphlets dropped on the Gaza Strip refrain from relying on simplistic propaganda images. Instead, they provide telephone numbers and e-mail addresses -- Palestinians can use them should they want to report the whereabouts of Hamas leaders or weapons caches…

…Israeli military speakers have for days been reporting that their generals in the field have observed scores of demoralized Hamas fighters deserting. The claim can't be confirmed -- but it definitely affects morale. It strengthens the Israeli population's will to continue; and in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli media is the main source of information, this message raises questions about whether Hamas may, in fact, be on its last legs.

Michael Provence, an Associate professor of modern Middle Eastern History at the University of California, San Diego, was teaching at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon at the time of the Israeli attack. He agrees with Putz about the weakness of the leaflets in winning the hearts and minds of the Lebanese people:

I saw a good number of leaflets and witnessed other types of Israeli offensive operations during the first ten days of the war. Before the war, the Lebanese public was divided in its attitude toward Hezbollah, but the Israeli offensive, and particularly operations outside the south, caused a large-scale realignment of Lebanese opinion in favor of Hezbollah, in my judgment. I think the leaflets were part of this realignment. I observed Lebanese reacting to the leaflets and cell phone calls in two ways, which seemed to cut across the normal cleavages of Lebanese society, in other words Christians, Druze, Shi'is Sunnis, rich, poor, educated and uneducated seemed to react similarly.

The first reaction was dismay and derision at the crudeness of the leaflets, especially the cartoons. The reaction typically went something like, “how stupid must they be if they think we’re this stupid?”

The second typical reaction, particularly of the written leaflets, warning of operations in villages and neighborhoods, and cautioning people to evacuate, was that such warnings were intended to instill widespread terror in the non-combatant population. Lebanese knew that the roads and bridges had been destroyed and that normal movement was impossible. Each day convoys of taxis and vehicles evacuating the south were destroyed in air strikes, and it became impossible to hire a taxi at any price.

These leaflets too had the effect of creating the impression that Hezbollah was the only protector of all Lebanese. It is important to note that these feelings dissipated within a few months, but during the war, Israeli operations of all types were very clearly counterproductive in undermining support for Hezbollah; support which swelled tremendously in Lebanon and the region during 2006.

I should point out that in every war there are complaints about the grammar, spelling and tone of the leaflet messages. Americans laughed at Iraqi leaflets during Operation Desert Storm with their comments that soldiers’ wives were sleeping with Tom Cruise and Bart Simpson. Surely the Iraqis laughed at some of the American propaganda. For instance, they did not understand a leaflet showing their aircraft with Iranian insignia because they did not know what Iranian insignia looked like. In Somalia instead of saying “United Nations” one American leaflet said “Slave Nations.” Some American leaflets to Japan during WWII were written by American Nisei who had little understanding of current Japanese grammar and tone. Sometimes the leaflets are written in a formal language that the workers can hardly understand. So, errors occur all the time when writing in a foreign language. As for the comment that the Lebanese knew the roads were dangerous and almost impossible to use, I have seen that criticism in other reports on the war. A common complaint was that the Israelis told them to move but left no way for them to do so. To conclude, the kind of problems the Provence mentions are very common and happen all the time. PSYOP specialists will always tell of their successes, but seldom speak of their failures.

An Earlier American Leafleting of Lebanon

To the Respective Citizens of Lebanon

The 1958 Lebanon crisis was a political crisis caused by political and religious tensions that nearly led to a civil war between Maronite Christians and Muslims in the country. U.S. President Eisenhower responded by authorizing Operation Blue Bat on 15 July 1958. This was the first application of the Eisenhower Doctrine, under which the U.S. announced that it would intervene to protect regimes it considered threatened by international communism. The U.S. intervention lasted until Christian President Camille Chamoun, who had requested the assistance, completed his term of office. American and Lebanese government forces successfully occupied the port and international airport of Beirut. With the crisis over on 25 October 1958, The U.S. withdrew its forces.

This leaflet was dropped by Naval aircraft of the U.S. 6th Fleet over Lebanon during the 1958 crisis. The leaflet depicts President Eisenhower on the front. The back is blank. The text is:

To the Respective Citizens of Lebanon

United States forces have entered your country at the request of your duly constituted government and the presence of these forces here is to help you to maintain peace and preserve the independence of Lebanon against those who interfere in your affairs and who expose your country to danger.

The American soldiers and officers here have left their homes to help you defend your lives, your property and your families. They shall leave your country as soon as the United Nations takes the necessary steps to secure the independence of Lebanon.

Bert Cooper added in his article Accentuating the Positive:

The leaflets produced by USIS/Lebanon in July carried this message to the Lebanese people. Entitled "U.S. Troops in Lebanon" and containing a 3 x 3-inch picture of President Eisenhower, the four-page leaflets began:

In response to an urgent plea from the Lebanese government, U.S. forces landed in Lebanon on July 15. The U.S. troops were sent to help preserve Lebanon's territorial integrity and political independence. U.S. forces will be withdrawn as soon as the United Nations can take the necessary steps to guarantee the independence of Lebanon.

The rest of the leaflet text noted recent events in Iraq and Jordan, pledged American support of Lebanon's independence, stressed the need for U.N. action to resolve the Middle East crisis, criticized Soviet obstruction tactics at the United Nations, and promised prompt withdrawal of American troops once Lebanon's security had been established.

The leaflets distributed on July 21st set the basic thematic tone of the PSYOP effort for the entire period. VOA broadcasts and USIA materials constantly stressed the point that the Lebanese government had requested American troops to preserve Lebanon's territorial integrity and political independence. Support of the U.S. intervention by the governments of Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan and favorable press reactions around the world were also given prominent coverage in USIA media. The eventual withdrawal of American troops was presented as one of the incentives for achieving a political settlement that would guarantee Lebanon's independence and end the civil turmoil, but there was no suggestion that U.S. forces would leave before this condition had been met.

The Bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon

An Explanatory leaflet issued to Marines in Lebanon

On 20 September 2024, the Hezbollah terrorist leader Ibrahim Aqil, the man behind a trio of bombing attacks that killed more than 250 Americans in the 1980s was killed. It was not the Americans reaching out after so many years and finally getting justice, it was the Israelis, as the Jewish state moves toward all-out war with the Iranian proxy group. Aqil, most recently a member of Hezbollah's highest military body, the Jihad Council, "was eliminated in a targeted intelligence-based strike in Beirut," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. 

Also known as "Tahsin," Aqil was a "principal leader" of the cell responsible for both the April 18, 1983, bombing at the US embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people including 17 Americans; and the Marine Corps barracks bombing in the Lebanese capital on Oct. 23 of that year, which killed 241 US troops and civilian personnel. At the time of Aqil’s death, the IDF said, he and other terror commanders were planning a fresh incursion into Israel to "kidnap and murder innocent civilians in a similar manner to the October 7 Massacre."

US News and World Report magazine of 24 October 1993 mentioned the Marine bombing in Lebanon.

"You never lose those faces, the ones you covered up, the ones you put in the body bags," says Staff Sgt. Todd Frederick of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines. On 23 October 1983, a yellow Mercedes-Benz truck raced past an unarmed sentry, blew up and killed 241 of his buddies at the Beirut airport. Now Sergeant Frederick is on the amphibious assault ship USS Guadalcanal off the coast of Somalia, reliving that Sunday morning when his Marine unit paid the price for another American peacekeeping mission that went wrong.

These marines remember Beirut. Sergeant Frederick was supposed to speak at a 10th-anniversary commemoration of the bombing of the Beirut Marine barracks. Every October 23, Gunnery Sgt. Randolph Russell, another Beirut veteran, lights a memorial candle. "I’ve always done that." he says, eyes brimming. "I don't recall a year I have missed since it happened." Sergeant Kurtz, too. remembers that morning in Beirut. "A lot of these guys today, like young corporals, are serving in billets once held by people killed in Beirut," he says. "You commit yourself to fill positions that another marine held before."

"We brought a lot back with us, and we now teach it to our men," says Sergeant Kurtz, who stepped in as platoon sergeant in Beirut when the man ahead of him was killed. "We paid dearly for the lesson we learned there, so wo should take something away from it," says Colonel Huly. Huly can make sure his men are well trained; he will insist that they not be sent into harm’s way without the right to defend themselves. He knows not to quarter one fourth of his men in one building, the way the battalion commander did in Beirut. But he can only hope that his commander in chief in Washington has learned the lessons of Beirut, too.

The Marines were sent to Beirut to provide an American "presence." But in part because the "presence" mission was unclear, the marines in Beirut got dragged into a civil war and lost their claim to neutrality. Ambiguous missions lead to unclear rules of engagement (ROE)—guidelines that tell soldiers and marines when to shoot and when to hold fire. 

An Earlier Israeli Leaflet Drop On Lebanon

This was not the first time the Israelis leafleted Lebanon. The 1982 Lebanon War, called Operation Peace for Galilee began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) invaded southern Lebanon, after repeated attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) operating in southern Lebanon and the IDF. After attacking the PLO, as well as Syrian, leftist, and Muslim Lebanese forces, the Israeli military occupied southern Lebanon, eventually surrounding the PLO and elements of the Syrian Army. The PLO forces and their allies eventually negotiated passage from Lebanon.

Major George C. Solley mentions the Israeli leafleting in The Israeli Experience in Lebanon, 1982-1985:

The IDF began psychological warfare operations. The IAF dropped leaflets and conducted mock bombing runs, high ranking Israelis made radio broadcasts, and special teams made loudspeaker announcements -- all to convince the PLO that attack was imminent…On 10 June, in order to reduce casualties among the numerous civilians and his own force, they tried a number of means to encourage the civilians to flee and the defenders to surrender - leaflets, loudspeaker broadcasts, local delegations, Israeli psychologists, and demonstrations of fire power against selected targets.

David Zinian of UPI mentioned a second 27 June leaflet drop in Israeli jets Showered war-ravaged Beirut with Leaflets warning Residents:

Meanwhile, leaflets fluttered down on the besieged city from Israeli jets. “Use the cease-fire to save your life…” Signed by the Israeli Defense Forces, the pink, green and yellow leaflets said Israeli forces “are not out to harm innocent civilians and those who are not fighting it.”

It was the second time Israel showered Beirut with an advisory to leave Moslem-controlled west Beirut either through Israeli lines on the eastern Beirut-Damascus highway or over the coast to Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

This leaflet was dropped by the Israelis on Beirut on 10-11 June 1982. It asks the Syrians to leave Beirut and promises safe passage to those commanders that remove their troops from the city. The back depicts a map of the city with two escape routes marked. The Syrian military discouraged its troops from collecting enemy surrender leaflets by starting a rumor that the leaflets were coated with a chemical agent to cause burns. The Leaflets were dropped from a low-flying Israeli F-16 fighters. The leaflet is a poorly mimeographed sheet that was also printed on pink, blue, and white paper. The text is:

I address this appeal to you

From one military commander to another:

The Israeli defense forces have been forced to enter Lebanon in order to expel all the irregular armed factions that disrupted security and calm and caused terror and destruction.

The Israeli defense forces undertook the responsibility of carrying out this task quickly and with precision and force. They have large forces from the navy, army and air force committed to the Beirut city area, including a huge number of tanks. These forces outnumber your forces. In a short time, we will capture the city.

I tell you that I do not doubt your courage. But at the same time, you have the responsibility to protect your soldiers from death and care for the future. This takes even more courage, and as an experienced commander, you know that any attempt to throw your forces against the defense army, with its greater manpower and fire power, will be tantamount to suicide and cause unnecessary bloodshed.

Orders on Withdrawal

But I want to tell you that it is not our intention to fight the Syrian Army or to confront the units of Hetim or Qadessiye that are under your orders.

We therefore issued orders to our forces to permit you and your troops to leave the city without hindrance and to use either of the following routes for your withdrawal:

1. Fayadiye-Kahala-Aley

2. Khaldeh-Bshamun Ain Anub-Sough al Gharb-Aley.

These routes are indicated on the map on the following page. I promise that our forces have received orders to insure your exit from the city along the prescribed routes in an honorable manner within a few hours following your receipt of this statement.

The Golan Heights in Syria

The New Arab reported on 21 October 2020 that Israeli forces distributed leaflets in southwestern Syria warning regime forces not to deal with Hezbollah or Iranian militias in the area, after an Israeli strike on a nearby school that was allegedly being used as a base by pro-Tehran fighters. It was not clear how the leaflets had been distributed; they could have been dropped from the air or distributed by Israeli agents operating in the area.

The leaflets warned regime forces that they would be targeted by Israel if they had dealings with Hezbollah or other Iran-backed militias. The leaflet directly addressed leaders of certain formations of the regime's army, such as General Ali Asaad of the First Brigade and General Akram Hawija of the Fifth Division, indicating that Israel has a high-level of intelligence of on the ground events in the area.

Syrian rebel and Islamist groups had controlled areas near the Golan Heights, but the Assad regime took over the entire Syrian side of the buffer area in 2018. Iran-backed militias entered the area after this.

The “HFL” on the image is the watermark of the Syrian opposition “Houran Free League” that published the image.

Hezbollah has brought destruction and instability to the region

On 8 January 2021, the Israel Hayon published an article by Shahar Klaiman that told of another leaflet strike on Syria:

Israeli planes dropped the leaflets before attacking military sites in southern Damascus, As-Suwayda, and Jabal Al-Mana. Addressing the commander of the Syrian army's 112th Brigade, Basil Abu Eid, the leaflet notes that despite prior warnings, he was still allowing Hezbollah forces to operate in the area under his command.

"You are putting your life and the life of your men at risk to serve the interests of Hezbollah in southern Syria. What is Hezbollah's role in southern Syria? What are its achievements in training the region and the military? Does taking advantage of the difficult situation of residents to enlist them in carrying out acts of terror serve Syrian interests? Does using underground structures and military sites to carry out acts of terror serve Syrian interests?

Hezbollah has brought destruction and instability to the region. You personally, and the army in general will pay the price. Now is the time for Hezbollah to leave Syria. Now is the time for Hezbollah to leave the 112th Brigade."

Another set of leaflets, which were dropped over the Golan, even identified the Israeli unit that dropped them, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) 210th Division. The unit guards the border between Israel and Syria along the Golan Heights.

We will not allow anyone to upset the stability here. We will act against Hezbollah and Iranian operatives at any time, as needed.

The Israelis said that despite earlier warnings, the Syrians continue to cooperate with Hezbollah.

In May 2021, the Israeli Defense Forces dropped leaflets which warned the Syrians to stop working with Hezbollah.

Stop cooperating with the Syrian and Lebanese personnel of Hezbollah. Otherwise, you will have no peace of mind. We note General Hussein Hamoush, commander of Brigade 90. And he is among those who have sold their consciences and their homeland at the cheapest of prices in return for aid for Hezbollah to camouflage their image among their masters, ignoring the general interest and your safety.

The Cleveland Jewish News reported Israeli leafleting on 18 August 2021 in an article titled, “Report: After Syria strike, IDF again warns Syrian military to cease cooperation with Hezbollah.”

Syrian opposition sources reported on Wednesday that following an alleged Israeli strike on a military post near the border on Tuesday, the Israeli military dropped leaflets warning the Syrian military to cease cooperating with Hezbollah. The leaflets, which were dropped on Syrian military positions, singled out Hajj Jawad Hashem, the head of Hezbollah’s “Golan File” in Syria, Israel’s Kan news reported

“Carrying out dirty work for Hezbollah has become a priority for the Syrian army, Aiding Hajj Hashem will bring ruin upon you. The members of the Syrian army have been turned into Hezbollah’s dummies without them even realizing it, Hajj Hashem and his men roam positions in southern Syrian, including positions in Qars al-Naql and the 90th Brigade that were targeted the night before yesterday. Their evil intentions have been exposed. You are responsible for your own actions and Hezbollah is responsible for your suffering. Abetting Hajj Hashem will lead to your destruction,”

The leaflet goes on to state that Hashem and his forces are known to be conducting visits to military sites in southern Syria, including the site hit on Tuesday, with the aim of upgrading their surveillance capabilities. Hezbollah, it continues, has turned the Syrian military into a puppet, warning that Syrian military personnel need to take care, as their actions are being closely monitored. At the bottom of the leaflet is an image of an ostensible Hezbollah vehicle at the military site that was hit by the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday.

To the Syrian army elements…

The Jerusalem Post of 25 October 2021 printed a story titled “IDF drops leaflets outing Syrian Arab Army officers as working for Hezbollah.” The article said in part:

The Israeli military dropped leaflets accusing the Syrian Arab Army of cooperating with Hezbollah and explicitly named operatives working for the terrorist group on the Golan Heights, just hours after it carried out airstrikes in the area. The pamphlets were dropped shortly after Israel was accused by opposition sources of striking targets belonging to Hezbollah’s so-called “Golan File” near al-Ba’ath and al-Krum in the southern Syrian province of Quneitra.

Syrian opposition sources said that among the targets of the attacks were the offices of Bashar Hussein, commander of the Reconnaissance and Observation Company in the 90th Brigade in the Syrian Arab Army. The pamphlets also named Jawad Hashem, the son of Munir Shaito (also known as Haj Hashem), who is the commander of the head of the group’s operations on the Golan, and Hussein Hamoush, commander of the 90th Brigade. Pictures of the men, along with the cars that were driving, were found by residents on Monday morning. The pamphlets had the eagle symbol of the 210th Bashan Division that defends the area bordering Syria.

Some of the leaflet text is:

“To the Syrian army elements. As we have mentioned in our previous warnings, your continued collaboration with Hezbollah and its stationing in South of Syria is what brings your suffering onto you. Nevertheless, some of you, such as the head of the reconnaissance unit in the 90th division Colonel Bashar Al Hussein, does not think twice before selling your and the civilians’ souls for helping Hajj Jawad Hashem, in service of continuing the reconnaissance projects of Hezbollah around Tel Kurom Khan, the financial building, and other areas, all the while disregarding the general interest and you own safety. Hezbollah is controlling you and using you secretly and publicly. Still, this does not prevent us from revealing its dirty deeds at all times and places.”

Time after time…

Although Israel has continued to leaflet Syrians working with Hezbollah, nothing was reported until 10 December 2022 when the Israeli Air Force dropped leaflets in the Quneitra area of southwestern Syria, warning Syrian soldiers against working with Hezbollah. According to the As-Suwayda 24 website, a radar site belonging to the Syrian military at Tal Qalib was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday night. The alleged airstrike was not reported by official Syrian sources. Perhaps they were embarrassed. The brightly colored leaflet said in part:

Time after time, you are responsible for the damage caused by your choices!

The continued presence of Hezbollah in the Syrian site of Tal Qalib and cooperation with them in any way will not pass well for you! The presence of Hezbollah in the region brought you humiliation and you are paying the price for that.

In March 2023, Israeli planes dropped leaflets in areas in the governorates of Qoneitra and Daraa, southern Syria, warning the Syrian army against the consequences of sheltering Hezbollah members. The leaflets read:

We will not accept the continued presence of Hezbollah at the Tel Al-Hara military base, and the continuation of cooperation in any way… Hezbollah continues to extend its arms in the region and its presence brings disaster and destruction… You will be the first to be harmed.

The hill, which is located northwest of Daraa governorate, is considered a strategic military site, due to its location, which overlooks the occupied Golan and is only about 15 km away from the border with Israel. It also represents a link between the western countryside of Damascus and the governorates of Daraa and Quneitra. Tel al-Hara is also a restricted military zone. Before 2018, the area was under the control of the opposition factions. The Syrian regime forces and pro-Iran militias regained control over the hill, in the wake of the settlement agreement in the southern region that was sponsored by Russia.

A Syrian Officer meets with Hezbollah Representative

In late April 2023, Israel leafleted Syrian forces working with Hezbollah once again. This happens so often that it is hardly worth mentioning, but the leaflet they used was worth mentioning. Israel has been extensively conducting air and missile strikes against Iran’s military presence across Syria at least since April 2017. This time, the Qurs al-Nafl site, located near the Syrian Israeli border, was reportedly hit by 20 artillery shells fired by the Israeli military. The leaflets warned Syrian troops not to cooperate with Iranian militia and allow them to operate near its borders. Names and photos of Syrian army officers allowing these militias to operate in the area were printed on the leaflets. The leaflet included a map of the area in question and a photograph of Samer al-Dana, the commander of the 41st Brigade of the Fourth Division of the Syrian Army, and an individual named Tariq Maher who it identified as the head of Hezbollah intelligence in Syria. This leaflet underscores the Israeli’s ability to photograph enemy personnel during their everyday meetings. Some of the text is:

We are closely watching and aware of the ongoing intelligence cooperation with Hezbollah within the Syrian army’s positions in the region, including near the Israeli border. Your cooperation with Hezbollah has… brought you more harm than benefit. Cooperation with Hezbollah leads to harm!

An Assessment of the Israeli Psyop Campaign

People that I correspond with are aware of my feeling toward PSYOP campaigns. You can see some results, and you can think they were caused by PSYOP, but often it is difficult to prove. Soldiers will surrender or defect and it is very difficult to know if the cause was PSYOP or some other like home sickness, fear, the state of the war, or even the lack of food, communication or even sex. Schleifer feels the Israeli PSYOP was not successful. He says in part:

Given the short time that has elapsed since the end of the fighting, any conclusive appraisal of the 2006 conflict is yet impossible. However, enough is known about the course of the conflict and, no less importantly, its aftermath, to claim that on the level of persuasion, Israel largely failed to achieve its immediate PSYOP goals. Katyusha rockets continued to rain down on northern Israel until the very end of the war. Nor were there, apparently, any rebellions, internal settling of accounts, or even significant signs of unrest within the ranks of the Hezbollah. On the contrary, the war ended with Nasrallah firmly still in control, although with his military deputy deposed. Israel also drew a blank in its attempts to undermine the Hezbollah’s Iranian and Syrian sponsors. Worse, the two, by investing heavily in the reconstruction of Lebanon’s devastated towns and countryside, only tightened their grip on the country.

On the other hand, mutterings of discontent among the population at large were rife, while leading Lebanese politicians, including Druze leader Walid Jumbalat and Dory Chamoun, the head of the Christian Liberal National Party, engaged in the kind of vitriolic attacks on the Hezbollah leader unheard of in recent Lebanese history. Yet arguably the Israeli PSYOP campaign, by taking the first steps by means of a ridicule campaign, had a significant role to play in cracking the image of infallibility, sanctity, and ruthlessness Nasrallah was cultivating, which finally culminated in bringing to light and exposing, even deepening, the existing divide between the communities. Presenting Nasrallah as an inveterate liar and figure of fun had, it seems, created the desired atmosphere. It served to fracture the seemingly impenetrable psychological barrier that the Hezbollah had erected around its chief. Thus, with a few caricatures and some carefully formulated, timely broadcasts, the Israeli campaign helped aggravate preexisting feelings of resentment and animosity within Lebanese society.

On 7 October 2023, at 6:30 a.m. in Israel Air raid sirens began sounding in Jerusalem.  An estimated 2,200 rockets were fired toward southern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, by the Hamas militants, according to the Israel Defense Forces (Hamas claimed 5,000 – Israel admitted on 16 October that Palestinian militants have fired more than 5,500 rockets into Israel since the fighting erupted). Armed Hamas militants, many on motorcycles stormed restricted areas of the Gaza Strip, shooting at Jewish settlers. Hamas militants took Israeli citizens, including mothers, children and the elderly hostage and took them across the Gaza border. An estimated 150 hostages were taken by militants back to Gaza (including up to 50 foreigners). By about 10:30 a.m. Israeli jet fighters launched retaliatory strikes in Gaza. A high-rise residential building and the Al-Sousi Mosque in Gaza City were bombed and flattened by Israeli airstrikes. Premier Netanyahu made his first public statement:

Israel is at war. This is not a so-called military operation, not another round of fighting, but war.

To the Citizens of Lebanon

The reader might ask why we mention that in this article. The fact is that as the Israel-Hamas fight went on, Iranian backed Hezbollah fighters decided they would like to get involved. The fired some rockets toward Israel and of course the Israelis fired back. On 31 August this Israeli leaflet was reported dropped on Lebanon. The text is:

To the Citizens of Lebanon

Hezbollah, the servant of the Iranian and Syrian masters, has led you to the brink of the abyss. Hezbollah, with its policy of isolation, has brought you destruction, displacement, and death in the past.  Can you pay this price again?  Know that the Israel Defence Forces will act with all the necessary force against any act of terrorism that comes out of Lebanon against the state of Israel.

Addendum

My articles are often used as reference by authors and PhD candidates. Perhaps the strangest reference was the Israeli leaflets dropped on Tyre, Lebanon. Pete Nielsen wrote a religious novel entitled Passport Please, where he said that the Israeli use of propaganda leaflets to warn citizens of eminent danger was the same principle used by the Lord when he sent the Bible to warn mankind. Apparently, propaganda is all-encompassing.

The Leader of Hezbollah Reported Dead

Hassan Nasrallah was killed 

Decades after I wrote this story Hamas attacked Israel on a 7 October 2023. They won a brief battle catching Israel by surprise, kidnapped over 200 Israelis, murdered many women and children and the Arab world rejoiced. The Israel retaliated with massive force and the world was shocked by the violence. Hezbollah, apparently thinking that Israel was concentrating on Hamas decided to join the war firing missiles at Northern Israel, and they were surprised to find that Israel was willing to attack them in Lebanon too. So, many years after the earlier Israel-Hezbollah war, Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on 27 February 2024 according to the Israeli Defense Forces, who said afterwards:

Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world.

Nasrallah, 64, was in a bunker beneath the group’s main headquarters in Beirut Friday when Israeli warplanes dropped bombs that "leveled six buildings" and took out several Hezbollah honchos in a targeted attack on the longtime terror leader. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it also neutralized Muhammad Ali Ismail — the commander of Hezbollah's missile unit in southern Lebanon - as well as his deputy, Hussein Ahmad Ismail, and other "commanders and operatives" who attended the meeting.

Reuters reported shortly afterwards that Iran moved its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to a secure location.

The devastating airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the result of a years-long operation by Israeli intelligence that penetrated the terror leader’s entire network - allowing him to be tracked to his underground command center in Beirut. The Israeli military then used 80 tons of specially designed bunker-busting bombs to blast through the heavily fortified hideout on Friday and kill Nasrallah, who has survived multiple previous attempts to assassinate him.

Nasrallah’s death was exactly what Israel had been hoping for when it launched a bombing campaign that day, the Financial Times reports. Israeli intelligence was aware of the movements of Hezbollah’s leadership following years of hacking and surveillance work on the Lebanese terror group. Narrowing its targets, the Jewish state then began hacking into the terror group's communication devices, with spies able to track down the exact movements of Hezbollah’s operatives, sometimes through their wives’ cell phones. Israel's spies also tracked Hezbollah leaders' movements by hacking surveillance cameras in Lebanon, and even reading their cars’ odometers. The Israeli bombardment successfully reached Nasrallah’s hideout 60 feet underground.

If any reader cares to contact the author about any aspect of this story and particularly if you care to help or correct any of the Arabic translations you are invited, in fact encouraged, to write to him at sgmbert@hotmail.com.