A new Israeli army unit formed to help fight the nation's public-relations war is recruiting and training soldiers for the virtual battlefields of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. 'The Internet, and especially social networks, Web 2.0 and bloggers, are an increasingly important and powerful way to disseminate information,' said Sergeant Aliza Landes, who heads the unit, which was formed in September. 'Facebook has the same number of subscribers as the entire population of the U.S. and provides a new opportunity for us to reach audiences we wouldn't reach otherwise.' Israel first began seriously using the Internet as a public-relations tool during a three-week military initiative in the Gaza Strip to stop rocket attacks on its southern towns and cities. The operation, which Israelis call Cast Lead, ended on Jan. 18. The army launched a YouTube channel in December 2008 and broadcast footage of Israeli air force attacks on Gaza targets, including one of a missile aborted once officers realized civilians were in the area. Individual video views on the army's YouTube channel have reached more than 8.5 million people, Landes said. On Twitter, the army has 1,485 followers. It recently also started a blog and will soon launch an official presence on Facebook. 'There was awareness before Cast Lead that this was an area where the Israeli army spokesman's office should get involved and the Gaza operation galvanized the effort,' Landes said in a telephone interview. 'What we are doing right now is a starting point.' Palestinians said 1,434 Gaza residents were killed during the 22-day Gaza operation. Israel put the number of Palestinian deaths at 1,166 and said 13 Israelis died in the violence. A United Nations panel headed by South African judge Richard Goldstone has found that both Israel and the Islamic Hamas group that rules Gaza committed war crimes in the fighting. 