Through relentless bombings, misinformation, and psychological war, Israel’s tactics aim to demoralise and instill fear among the Lebanese population.

Noor Sleiman
This article was translated from Arabic to English
“I have come to despise the night. It has turned into a living nightmare,” says Abeer, 25, who was forced to leave her home in the southern suburbs of Beirut as Israeli shelling in the area escalated over the past few days.
“About a week ago, the Israeli army started issuing evacuation orders to several neighbourhoods in the southern suburbs at midnight and in the early morning hours. Mere minutes later, warplanes began targeting those areas with heavy missiles carrying tons of explosives, whose deafening blasts reverberated across the city and even reached distant areas of Beirut,” Abeer recounts.
“Every night, I watch my neighbourhood – the streets where I lived and grew up – being bombed and destroyed, live on TV.”
Although she now finds herself in a safer location, Abeer remains consumed by fear and anxiety. “I might be physically safe, but I live in constant dread that my home will be bombed and everything I own will be reduced to rubble, or that my friends and acquaintances in the southern suburbs, the south or the Bekaa Valley will be directly targeted, and I’ll lose them forever.”
With a touch of bitterness, she describes the irony of the Israeli army’s approach: Publishing evacuation orders at dawn on the “X” platform, as if everyone has access to it, while giving residents hardly any time to leave before the shelling begins.
“It’s nothing but a formality, a façade to make the world think they’re trying to protect us, when in reality, they’re keeping us awake all night, anxiously waiting to see if our homes will show up on the evacuation map,” she says.
Abeer’s experience is just one example of the nightly ordeal that many Lebanese are enduring. Since the outbreak of hostilities on October 8, 2023, the Israeli military campaign has claimed the lives of more than 2,083 people, including at least 127 children. Another 9,869 people have been injured, and nearly 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes in what has become the largest displacement in Lebanon’s history, according to the Lebanese government.
In addition to the physical devastation, the Lebanese people are facing a different kind of conflict – an unprecedented psychological war.
A War Waged with Threats, Misinformation and Psychological Tactics
Psychological warfare is a non-combat strategy that employs tactical propaganda, threats and other forms of manipulation to mislead, intimidate or demoralise the opposing side, ultimately shaping their thoughts and behaviours to benefit the aggressor.
During the ongoing war of Israel on Lebanon, Israel’s use of psychological warfare has been evident in the form of continuous threats by officials and a flood of fake news and misinformation.
One recent example of these tactics was the claim of a ground invasion by the Israeli army into southern Lebanese border villages. On the morning of Tuesday, October 1, the Israeli military asserted that its forces had successfully penetrated Lebanese territory and were engaged in clashes with Hezbollah fighters. This assertion was promptly refuted by Hezbollah and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), both confirming that Israeli forces had not entered Lebanese soil.
This incident was a clear attempt to demoralise and sow fear among the Lebanese people, who were already reeling from relentless airstrikes.
The Israeli deception came to strike at the morale of the Lebanese and to terrorise them further, while they were already suffering under the burden of violent, relentless bombing.
Samira, a 55-year-old resident of Tyre, southern Lebanon, experienced the effects of this psychological warfare firsthand. On Monday, September 23, her neighbourhood, which had been relatively untouched, suddenly came under intense shelling.
“Until that day, the attacks were limited to border areas, with some sporadic strikes in Tyre,” Samira recalls. “But without warning, the shelling reached the area around our home. It felt like a deliberate tactic to force us to leave, and so we did. We moved to my daughter Abir’s house in the southern suburbs, but when the shelling intensified there, we were displaced again within the same week.”
Reflecting on the harrowing experience, Samira adds, “It feels like they are chasing us wherever we go. I don’t feel safe anywhere. I still remember when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that if Hezbollah escalated the conflict, Lebanon would become a ‘second Gaza.’ This is what I fear every day – that the tragedy of Gaza will be repeated here. Hasn’t Gaza been subjected to genocide by Israel for over a year without anyone stepping in to stop it? Didn’t Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant describe us as ‘human animals’?”
The psychological onslaught began escalating in Lebanon on Tuesday, September 17, when thousands of pagers across Beirut and other areas exploded, leaving thousands of people injured or dead.
“It was a terrifying day,” said Ahmad, a 30-year-old resident of the southern suburbs. “I saw people collapsing in the streets. They said they were targeting Hezbollah fighters, but many of those who were hit were just shopping, working in a hospital or sitting at home with their families. Even children were among the victims. It felt like we were all being targeted, regardless of who we were or where we were.”
Alongside these violent attacks, false information spread rapidly on social media, claiming that cell phones, solar panels and even microwaves were exploding, Ahmad recalled. The panic was overwhelming and lasted for hours before it was revealed that these rumours were untrue.
“It’s as if all the bombings, destruction and death weren’t enough – we had to contend with psychological warfare too,” he said.
Israel’s use of psychological tactics has also extended into the digital arena. According to the digital rights organisation SMEX, Lebanese citizens have been bombarded with text messages and calls containing threats, false evacuation orders and malicious links designed to hack personal data. In addition, social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have been used to disseminate advertisements attributed to the Mossad, calling on Lebanese citizens to collaborate in intelligence gathering.
Messages in the Sky: Israel’s Psychological Warfare Through Airspace Violations
Israel’s violation of Lebanese airspace, from the south to the north, using warplanes and reconnaissance aircraft, has long been a source of tension. This practice, a breach of UN Resolution 1701, has become so frequent since the July 2006 war that Lebanese have grown accustomed to it. However, these violations have significantly escalated since October 8, 2023.
“The reconnaissance planes haven’t left the skies over the south since the war began. They fly so low that it feels as if they’re hovering right above our roof,” says Samira, a resident of Tyre. “The constant buzzing is overwhelming, giving me headaches. It’s like we’re being monitored every second, waiting for an air raid to happen at any moment. And then there’s the daily breaking of the sound barrier several times a day, causing panic for us and the children.”
Samira’s 12-year-old daughter, who has grown up under these conditions, can now distinguish between the different sounds. “She can tell the difference between an airstrike, a plane flying overhead and the sound barrier being broken. Sometimes, she even teases us when we get scared of the sonic booms because she’s confident it’s not an actual raid,” Samira says.
“But it’s taken its toll. The constant noise prevents her from concentrating on her homework or even sleeping through the night.”
Psychologist Warda Bou Daher explains the impact of such stress on children’s mental health.
“The psychological pressure children face in these circumstances drives them to try to understand what’s happening so they can protect themselves. But that doesn’t mean they’re not suffering from trauma,” she says.
“Many of the children we work with have become fearful of any loud sound, whether it’s a door slamming or strong winds. They associate these sounds with the continuous bombings and sonic booms they’ve experienced. It will require significant psychological support to help them regain the sense of safety they’ve lost.”
Bou Daher adds that Israel’s use of the sound barrier is a deliberate tactic of psychological warfare.
“The message they want to send is clear: they can reach civilians wherever they are and terrorise them at will. This is just one of many methods Israel employs to instil fear. They often claim military superiority that doesn’t necessarily reflect reality, to incite fear and anxiety. Or, they assert that they are only targeting fighters, placing the blame for civilian casualties on those fighters. These tactics aim to fracture Lebanese society, turning people against each other and fostering division and animosity.”
It’s important to note that these psychological warfare tactics constitute a violation of Article 51(2) of International Humanitarian Law, which prohibits the use of violence or threats primarily aimed at spreading terror among civilian populations.
Combating Fake News and the Role of Journalists
Yousef Al-Amin, a journalist and co-founder of the fact-checking platform Sawab, emphasises that some journalists tend to prioritise speed over accuracy, especially during times of war.
“Many journalists believe their role is limited to reporting news as it breaks, without the responsibility of verifying it first. The result is that speed often takes precedence over precision, leading to the circulation of unverified information,” Al-Amin says.
“In some cases, news is shared with vague attributions like ‘circulating’ or ‘quoted from Hebrew sources,’ without providing concrete references.”
Al-Amin explains that this trend is exacerbated by the psychological vulnerability of citizens, including journalists themselves, during wartime.
He elaborates, “Israel has capitalised on this fragility to escalate its psychological warfare, amplifying panic and anxiety. For instance, warplanes may bomb areas outside Beirut while simultaneously breaking the sound barrier over the city, making people believe the attack was in Beirut itself.”
With the rise of social media platforms as a primary source of information, Al-Amin acknowledges the challenge of regulating the spread of misleading content. Figures like Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee utilise official channels to disseminate information, while unofficial actors, such as electronic armies, further fuel the spread of falsehoods.
Given the critical role that journalists play during conflicts, Al-Amin believes it is their duty to verify every piece of information before sharing it, recognise the heightened responsibility imposed by the realities of war, and act as reliable sources for the public during these times.
Al-Amin also emphasises the role of individuals in combatting misinformation. “People need to take responsibility for verifying information before sharing it with others and ensure that the news they are circulating comes from reputable and well-known media outlets. Each person can be a credible source within their own circles, and they should adopt a mindset of critical thinking, always keeping in mind that Israel’s psychological warfare aims to sow fear, disrupt daily life and instil a sense of defeat and surrender.”
Note: Pseudonyms have been used for individuals who shared their experiences to protect their privacy and security