219 entries on 193 dates · the books disagree on 62
dates 1–60 of 193 next
November 1969
Wednesday, 26 November 1969
The road to war · From the books
Karami's national unity cabinet gives Kamal Jumblatt the Interior Ministry.
Kamal Jumblatt became interior minister, in charge of carrying out the Cairo Agreement, in the government of national union Rashid Karami formed once the Syrian border reopened, ending a cabinet vacancy of over seven months.
Sources differ: 26 November (Traboulsi, twice) or 25 November (de Clerck & Malsagne).
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 25 November 1969
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December 1972
Tuesday, 26 December 1972
The road to war · From the books
The left demonstrates against the Ghandour dismissals.
On 26 December the Left protested again at the Ghandour sackings. Tufaro: workers left the dispute resentful of state and CGTL alike.
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May 1973
Tuesday, 1 May 1973
The road to war · From the books
Palestinian guerrillas abduct three Lebanese soldiers.
The May 1973 crisis began when members of the Popular and Democratic Fronts abducted three Lebanese soldiers as hostages for the release of detained Palestinians.
Sources differ: Kidnappers: PFLP and DFLP (Hanf) or DFLP (de Clerck & Malsagne).
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June 1974
Saturday, 1 June 1974
The road to war · From the books
Compulsory military service is decreed, but not applied.
Lebanon's first conscription decree, of 1 June 1974, was put into effect only in 1983.
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February 1975
Wednesday, 26 February 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Troops fire on Sidon's protesting fishermen; Maarouf Saad is mortally wounded.
Maarouf Saad, the Nasserist deputy leading a Sidon fishermen's march, was shot when the army fired on it and died days later; several others were killed or wounded. The marchers opposed Protein, holder of a deep-sea fishing concession, with Camille Chamoun on its board. That evening armed men killed a soldier.
Sources differ: Hanf places the demonstration in March; the existing entry 10 gives 7 March. Traboulsi and de Clerck and Malsagne give 26 February.
Art and memory- film Censored in Lebanon, Le Liban dans la tourmente (1975) was Jocelyne Saab's first war documentary. Filming both a wealthy, carefree bourgeoisie and cheerful children in the Palestinian camps, she asked where the hatred came from.
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March 1975
Wednesday, 12 March 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The cabinet transfers two officers over the Sidon shooting.
On 12 March the Solh cabinet partly yielded to Sidon and the National Movement, giving Sidon's governor a month's administrative leave and moving two army officers, which Gemayel opposed.
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April 1975
Saturday, 12 April 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The government cancels the Protein fishing project.
The cabinet's decision to scrap the Protein scheme and compensate Sidon's fishermen came a month after its first concessions, and a day before Ain al-Rummaneh.
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May 1975
Monday, 26 May 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The military Cabinet resigned
Islamic and leftist leaders rejected this Cabinet. The Lebanese considered it as a challenge. Karameh presented his candidature to form a new Government, in a climate of terror imposed by militias. Lootings, killings, and kidnappings continued.
What the books addThe National Movement's call for a general strike, supported by the leading Sunni politicians, Mufti Hassan Khaled, Musa al-Sadr and Raymond Edde, brought down the military cabinet on 26 May; on 28 May Frangieh appointed Rashid Karami Prime Minister.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 28 May 1975
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July 1975
Tuesday, 1 July 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Lebanon had a new Government
The new Cabinet included the following 6 members Rachid Karameh - Prime Minister, Minster of Finance, National Defense, and Information. Camille Chamoun - Minister of Interior, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, and Hydraulic and Electric Resources. Adel Osseirane - Minster of Justice, Public Works, Economy and Trade Magid Arslane : Minster of Health, Agriculture, and Housing and Cooperatives. Philippe Takla - Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Education, and Plan. Ghassan Tueni - Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Tourism, and Industry and Oil. This government aimed, in a climate of daily fights and extreme tension, at dismantling barricades, taking away heavy armaments, suppressing defense positions, and reopening the roads.
What the books addHanf puts the cabinet's formation at the end of June and its announcement some two weeks before the 15 July confidence vote (83 for, none against, 16 Jumblatt supporters abstaining); Traboulsi's chronology gives 6 July. Neither the Kataeb nor Jumblatt was included. A cease-fire followed, which Traboulsi says was reached with Syrian mediators' help.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 6 July 1975
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August 1975
September 1975
Monday, 1 September 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The army creates the Ansar brigade.
Under a Shiite commander and with mostly Shiite recruits, the Ansar brigade was a legal militia set up by the army to keep young Lebanese out of the Palestinian struggle.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Egypt and Israel initial the Sinai II agreement.
Egypt and Israel initialled the Kissinger-brokered Sinai II accord. De Clerck and Malsagne judge it disastrous for Lebanon. For Hanf, it weakened Syria, which pressed the PLO for coordination, and deepened Palestinian fears of liquidation.
Sources differ: Initialled on 1 September (Hanf; de Clerck and Malsagne's chronology); de Clerck and Malsagne's narrative gives 4 September, the signature in Geneva.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 4 September 1975
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Friday, 26 September 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The cease-fire breaks down.
The September cease-fire collapsed and fighting resumed in Beirut.
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November 1975
Wednesday, 26 November 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Kurt Waldheim, the Secretary General of the United Nations, visited Lebanon for a few hours. He declared that the Lebanese themselves held the solution to the Lebanese crisis.
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December 1975
Monday, 1 December 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Israelis attacked villages in the South
Israeli raids against Beddawi, Nahr El Bared, and Nabatyeh were more violent then ever. The attacks killed 111 persons and injured 140 others. Lebanon requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council, which met on December 5 and strongly condemned the raids against Lebanon.
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Friday, 12 December 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Sixty people are killed in Zahleh.
Six days after Black Saturday, assaults and shelling by Palestine Liberation Army and Yarmouk units killed sixty Christians of Zahleh; Bishop Bassul called it a massacre.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne blame attacks by the PLA and Yarmouk units; Tegho Bou Nassif blames fedayeen shelling.
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January 1976
Thursday, 1 January 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The explosion of the MEA Boeing in Saudi Arabia killed 82 persons, 40 of which were Lebanese.
This airplane flying from Beirut to Masqat via Dubai did not explode in the air, but while in the airport. An investigation was opened to determine the causes of the accident. The hypothesis of sabotage was not excluded.
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February 1976
March 1976
Friday, 12 March 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
A Phalange delegation travels secretly to Israel.
Ammunition running out, Pierre Gemayel relented, and on 12 March 1976 the Phalangists Joseph Abu Khalil, Sami Khoueiry and Fouad Roukoz went by speedboat to Israel for arms. Israel shipped them within days but again ruled out intervening directly.
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April 1976
Monday, 12 April 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Assad attacks the National Movement and offers to intervene.
Pierre Gemayel called it a historic speech: in Damascus, President Assad said Syria was ready to send forces into Lebanon to protect any oppressed group, Christian or Muslim, and attacked the PLO and National Movement leaders.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's chronology lists 'al-Asad's speech attacking LNM' under '13 March', apparently a misprint for 12 April.
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May 1976
Saturday, 1 May 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Despite the Damascus agreement, fights continued violently. The elections were postponed to May 8, the two candidates being Elias Sarkis and Raymond Eddeh.
What the books addAccounts differ. Hanf has Raymond Eddé stand 'on principle', protesting at outside manipulation, and so become the Left's candidate; Traboulsi and de Clerck and Malsagne have him boycott the vote, Traboulsi because it could not be free.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 8 May 1976
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June 1976
Tuesday, 1 June 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Syrian troops intervened in the Akkar region to raise the siege imposed on Kobeyate by officer Maamari from the 'Army of Arab Lebanon.' The Syrian contingent counted approximately 2000 men. 600 other soldiers entered the Bekaa region with over 200 tanks.
What the books addHistorians date the entry of Syrian regular troops to 1 June 1976 (Ménargues gives 9 June). President Assad announced it in the presence of the visiting Soviet Prime Minister Kosygin, citing appeals from the Akkar villages of Qubayat and Andaqit, besieged since January and attacked by the Lebanese Arab Army on 27 May. Columns moved towards Akkar and Tripoli, Zahleh and the Bekaa, and Sidon by way of Jezzine. Estimates of the force range from 6,000 men at the start (with 260 armoured vehicles, according to Ménargues) to 12,000-15,000 within weeks, with 250-300 tanks (de Clerck and Malsagne).
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 9 June 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian tanks enter Zahleh.
Bishop Bassul stepped in when Tajammu' fighters backed by Captain Tarek Nujaym ambushed Syrian tanks entering Zahleh, and the Syrians went on into the town. Fisk later found the Syrians and local Phalangists cooperating openly and Zahleh open to traffic.
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July 1976
Thursday, 1 July 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
While Palestinian camps were under attack and all fronts were on fire, Beirut was short of water, electricity, and medications. The situation was intolerable.
What the books addHanf dates Lebanese Front forces' capture of the Jisr al-Basha camp to this day; de Clerck and Malsagne give 29 June, Picard August.
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August 1976
Thursday, 12 August 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Tell El Zaatar assault and massacre
After a siege that lasted 52 days, the Tell El Zaatar Palestinian camp fell in the hands of the Lebanese Forces as a result of an ultimate assault launched at dawn. It was in total confusion that the 12000 camp residents were evacuated. In retaliation, kidnappings were reported in West Beirut. 2000 people died in fighting during the entire siege, and 4000 were wounded. The surviving cilvilians were settled by The PLO in other camps and in Damour.
What the books addTal al-Za'tar fell on 12 August 1976 (13 August in Ménargues) after more than 70 assaults. Ménargues and Hanf count a siege of 52-53 days from the final offensive; de Clerck and Malsagne and Traboulsi count six months from the January blockade. An ICRC report cited by de Clerck and Malsagne puts the dead at about 2,500 residents and defenders and up to 800 attackers; many died trying to escape. The Tigers and the Guardians of the Cedar led the last assault, reportedly with Syrian and Israeli officers present. The camp was bulldozed and never rebuilt.
Art and memory- novel Liana Badr's novel The Eye of the Mirror tells of a girl growing up in Tal al-Za'tar during the siege of 1976.
- artwork Ziad Rahbani made the siege of Tal al-Za'tar widely known through one of his musical works.
- film Georges Hachem's film Balle perdue (2010) is set in late summer 1976 north of Beirut, in the lull that followed the fall of Tal al-Za'tar.
- place Tal al-Za'tar was bulldozed after its fall in 1976; neither it nor Jisr al-Basha, both levelled that year, has been rebuilt.
- testimony Nayla Hachem's testimony describes her relief work in 1976 at the siege of Tal al-Za'tar, the fall of Nabaa and the massacres; she was a nurse, later an ICRC delegate.
- book In Camille Chamoun's war diary, Tal al-Za'tar's fall in August 1976 was a triumph of fighters of every class.
- artwork The play Silence, ça tourne (2025) is built on the testimony of a Swedish nurse who survived the siege of Tal al-Za'tar.
Other dates in the books: Sunday, 4 January 1976, Friday, 13 August 1976
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Thursday, 26 August 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Moscow condemns the massacres at Tal al-Za'tar and Nabaa.
The Soviet agency Tass condemned the massacres committed by Christian forces at Nabaa and Tall al-Za'tar. Syria's intervention also led to a temporary halt in Soviet-Syrian cooperation.
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October 1976
Friday, 1 October 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After they occupied the positions of the Palestinian Progressive forces in the Upper-Metn, the Lebanese Forces launched a new far-reaching attack against Aley, the main bastion of these forces. This new assault was be repelled on both axes, that of Bdedoun north-east of Aley, and that of Kahaleh north of the town.
What the books addHanf writes that Damascus thought the Christian side had won ground enough over the summer, so Syrian guns blocked the Lebanese Front's bid to cross the Beirut-Damascus road and take Aley. Kataeb fighters who had lost comrades at Aley the day before then killed Druze civilians at Salima (de Clerck and Malsagne).
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January 1977
Wednesday, 12 January 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The collection of heavy and light arms continued while the government was helping the victims of the war and trying to boost the economy.
What the books addUnder the Riyadh decisions of October 1976 all parties were to give up heavy weapons to the Arab Deterrent Force; the Hoss government set a 5 December 1976 deadline (Traboulsi). Fisk reports the militias did not hand them in; Hanf, that the Palestinians moved most of theirs south of the 'red line'.
Other date in the books: Monday, 18 October 1976
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February 1977
Saturday, 12 February 1977
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
A decree-law opens the rebuilding of the army.
Deserters could return to the ranks, and officers who had fought in the conflict were asked to resign, under a decree-law that opened President Sarkis's programme for rebuilding the army. De Clerck and Malsagne say nearly 9,000 soldiers were removed and 12,000 new volunteers enlisted.
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May 1977
Thursday, 26 May 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The mandate of the Arab four-party committee in charge of the execution of the Palestinian-Lebanese Cairo agreement had expired, while the agreement had not been executed yet.
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August 1977
September 1977
Monday, 26 September 1977
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israeli tanks pull back from southern Lebanon.
After a week of clashes in the south, Israel's Christian militia allies held a slightly larger strip, along nearly all the frontier from coast to Hermon, and Israel withdrew the tanks it had sent in.
Sources differ: Original entry 149 dates the ceasefire to 25 September.
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October 1977
Saturday, 1 October 1977
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
A US-Soviet declaration raises hopes of a Geneva peace conference (context).
A US-Soviet joint declaration called for the Palestinians' rights to be recognised and for normal relations among all the states concerned. American diplomacy earlier that year had already given the PLO grounds to moderate its stance; a new Geneva conference now seemed near.
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January 1978
Thursday, 26 January 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Feyrouz played Queen of ' Petra ', the play that the Rahbani brothers wrote and presented at the Picadilly Theatre. Assi Rahbani was the Director, Abdel-Hamid Caracalla was in charge of the scenography, Papou Lahoud did the costumes, and Ghazi Kahwaji the decoration.
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February 1978
May 1978
Friday, 12 May 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Seiman Frangieh and Rachid Karameh reconciled under the auspices of the Syrian commander of the Arab Strike Force in Northern Lebanon.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne record that Frangieh had quit the Lebanese Front the day before over its ties with Israel. The reconciliation, Hanf notes, made the north a pro-Syrian bloc.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 11 May 1978
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July 1978
Saturday, 1 July 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
It is a blaze of fire ! Ain El Remmaneh was savagely bombed. 22 persons died and tens were injured. Syrian forces arrested Commander Bechir Gemayel then set him free.
What the books addHanf has Syrian guns shelling Ain el-Remmaneh on the day of mourning called after the Qaa killings, and the Syrian troops ignoring Sarkis's order to cease fire. Ménargues puts Bashir Gemayel's brief detention at a Syrian checkpoint at the end of July.
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Wednesday, 26 July 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin declared : 'Christians in Lebanon are threatened of being annihilated'.
What the books addFisk adds that the Syrian shelling slackened around this time after sonic booms from a pair of Israeli jets flying low over West Beirut.
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September 1978
Tuesday, 26 September 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Alfred Naccache was dead from pneumonia. He was 91 years old. He was President of the Republic between 1941 and 1943, under the French mandate. After the independence, he was given several ministerial functions, before he retired from politics. He was born in Beirut in 1887 and studied law at Saint Joseph University. He became advisor for the supreme court of appeal, and then headed the appeal court. In 1941, he became President of the Republic until March 18, 1943. He was titular of several honorific distinctions such as the great cordon of the cedar order.
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October 1978
November 1978
Wednesday, 1 November 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
At Kornet Chehwane, a detachment of the army's intervention squad encircled the residence of Captain Sami Achkar accused of creating a dissident organization within the army. The officer was killed in the assault. The next day, Fouad Boutros, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, was attacked in Achrafieh and his bodyguards were kidnapped.
What the books addIn February 1978 Achkar had led the Lebanese soldiers in the clash with Syrian troops at Fayadiyeh; in October he left the army with about twenty men and founded a 'Revolutionary Lebanese Army Movement'. Boutros was due to fly with the president to the Arab summit in Baghdad when the Lebanese Forces, avenging Achkar, ambushed him on the way to the airport. Lieutenant Qozhaya Chamoun, who led the convoy, was abducted and later murdered; Boutros himself got away.
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January 1979
Friday, 12 January 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Members of the Commission of Justice requested the adoption of a law prohibiting the sale of lands to non-Lebanese. In the south, it seemed that many lands have been sold to non-Lebanese.
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February 1979
Monday, 12 February 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Brian Urqhart, the assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, examined with Lebanese officials the modalities of the Army's deployment in the South next to the UNIFL Israel nevertheless rejected the program.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 18 April 1979
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March 1979
Monday, 26 March 1979
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Egypt and Israel sign a peace treaty; the Lebanese balance shifts.
In Lebanon the Israeli-Egyptian treaty, signed in Washington, had deep effects. The Lebanese Forces strengthened their cooperation with Israel, and Syria moved closer to the PLO, letting it return in 1979 to its earlier positions south of Beirut. For Traboulsi, the peace process undermined the Sarkis regime.
Sources differ: Traboulsi and Picard give the month only; de Clerck and Malsagne give 26 March.
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April 1979
Thursday, 12 April 1979
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Damascus says Syria will leave Lebanon only once its aims are achieved.
In a Le Monde interview, a Syrian leader, probably Foreign Minister Abd al-Halim Khaddam, said Syria would withdraw from Lebanon when its aims were met; Picard cites it among examples of Damascus's high-handed treatment of Lebanese leaders.
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May 1979
Tuesday, 1 May 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A big scientific study was concluded with 888 Lebanese who are 16 to 22 years old. The results were as follows: 73% of the Lebanese youth were interested in politics 91% read everyday one or two political newspapers 56% sympathized with parties 34% adhered to parties 32% had fought One girl out of eight carried arms
74% of the youth conceived their future in Lebanon only 40% were optimistic 37% saw their death directly tied to war
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Saturday, 12 May 1979
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Fighting between the Kataeb and the NLP militia breaks out in Furn el-Chebbak.
Bashir Gemayel's Kataeb and Camille Chamoun's National Liberal Party (Ahrar) first fought in Furn el-Chebbak, in Beirut's eastern suburbs; the fighting then reached every spot where their militias faced each other and, by its end in July 1980, had claimed dozens of victims.
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July 1979
Thursday, 12 July 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Unrest spread in West Beirut where Shiite militiamen manifested their anger against the eventual visit to Beirut of Colonel Kadhafi. The Lebanese government cancelled, under pressure from both officials and Shiite masses, the visit of the Libyan president.
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September 1979
Wednesday, 12 September 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The notables of Zghorta and Becharreh reconciled under the aegis of Patriarch Khoreiche. In a common declaration, the notables requested the deployment of the army in their region.
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November 1979
Monday, 12 November 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The work document that Lebanon was going to present in Tunis, contained 6 main points: exercising pressure on the United States to end Israeli aggressions, freezing the actions of the Fedayin, laying the Lebanese authority in the South, banning any illegal armed presence, re-activating the Beiteddine Committee, and grouping guerillas in some specified zones.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 20 November 1979
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December 1979
March 1980
April 1980
Saturday, 12 April 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Saad Haddad militiamen attacked UNIFL soldiers. Bombings destroyed two United Nations helicopters in Nakoura.
What the books addFisk: in the April 1980 fighting at At-Tiri, Haddad's gunmen killed Private Stephen Griffin of the Irish UNIFIL battalion and UN troops killed a militiaman, whose death two other Irish soldiers later paid for. The militia also held the coastal strip between the French unit and Naqoura and shot at helicopters.
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July 1980
August 1980
dates 1–60 of 193 next
