THE CELL PHONE WAR

'This is the beginning of the cellular phone war' (Haaretz)
Hasan," said the deep voice on the phone, "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!"The "Hassan" being address was Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, but the message was for all Lebanese. The automated, recorded calls have flooded Lebanese telephones since the Israeli onslaught began 27 days.

Phone calls with recorded messages slam Hezbollah. Hackers splash warnings that read "Hezbollah members beware" into transmissions from the militant organization's television station over a picture of Nasrallah.

It seems Israelis are everywhere - not just on the ground in south Lebanon or the skies or on ships off the coast.

The Israel Defense Forces refused to confirm that they were behind the calls that Lebanese throughout the country started to receive soon after the hostilities began July 12. But few Lebanese doubt who is sending them."This is the beginning of the cellular phone war between Israel and Hezbollah," wrote Ahmed Mughrabi, a reporter for Al-Hayat newspaper who received the "Hasan" call."

The cellular and land lines have become ingredients of the modern psychological and propaganda wars, joining other tools of such wars like the radio, TV, flyers and the Internet," he added.

Typically, the calls start coming in the afternoon and quite frequently in the middle of the night. A "0000" number flashes on the phone screen, indicating an overseas call. The voice on several other recorded messages is identical to the one on the "Hasan" message, and they deliver the same anti-Hezbollah line. "This is the state of Israel," said one message that urged Lebanese to end their support for Hezbollah. "This resistance ... is forcing you to stay at home like rats." Another posed questions: "Who is it that's putting your life in danger? Who is using you as human shields?"

But that's not the only way Israel is making its presence felt outside its military strikes. During a recent prime time newscast on Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV that was airing a footage of Nasrallah, viewers suddenly saw "Hezbollah members beware" splashed across the screen, the words running over the guerrilla leader's black turban. They also flashed a picture of the body of a dead man sprawled on his back with a caption claiming it was a Hezbollah's special forces fighter."Nasrallah is lying to you. We're not the ones hiding our losses," said another caption.