113 entries on 99 dates · the books disagree on 26
dates 1–60 of 99 next
April 1973
Monday, 30 April 1973
The road to war · From the books
Fatah members with explosives are arrested at Beirut airport.
Four Fatah members with explosives in their luggage were stopped at the airport before a flight to Europe; a day later, near the US embassy, five Democratic Front guerrillas were held.
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January 1975
Thursday, 30 January 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
15,000 persons demonstrated in Beirut to express their solidarity with South Lebanon, which had been regularly bombed by Israel.
What the books addTraboulsi counts this among the early-1975 protests, a southern general strike and Beirut demonstrations, over the Palestinian presence and the south's defence.
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April 1975
Sunday, 13 April 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A serious incident opposed the Phalange (Kataeb) Party to the Resistance in Ain El Remmaneh causing 31 deaths.
These people were on board of a bus bringing back from Tell El Zaatar members of Palestinian Organizations who had just participated in a Resistance meeting. Because of the incident, tension rose in the Palestinian camp and in many surrounding towns. Authorities and mediators were trying to calm the waters and ask the Phalange Party leader, Pierre Gemayel, to hand over those responsible of the incident to the Lebanese Justice.
What the books addThe day began with shootings near the church in Ain al-Rummaneh, where Pierre Gemayel was attending a consecration; his bodyguard Joseph Bou Assi was killed. In the early afternoon Kataeb militiamen fired on a bus returning to Tal al-Za'tar from a rally of the Arab Liberation Front. Most historians count 27 dead (Hanf, Fisk, de Clerck and Malsagne: 27 of 35 passengers); Traboulsi gives 21 and Ménargues 31. According to de Clerck and Malsagne the bus carried Palestinians and Lebanese in equal numbers, all men. Fighting spread that evening across the suburbs of Beirut.
Art and memory- film In Ziad Doueiri's West Beyrouth (1998), the teenager Tarek witnesses the Ain al-Rummaneh bus attack, and the next day his family is stopped at a roadblock and asked for identity cards.
- artwork A copy of the Dodge bus attacked in 1975 stood on a street in central Beirut in April 2003, for the 28th anniversary, as the installation '13th of April'.
- book De Clerck and Malsagne take the morning incidents, the bus passengers and the finding that no Kataeb leader ordered the attack from Marwan Chahine's pioneering investigation, Beyrouth, 13 avril 1975. Autopsie d'une étincelle (Belfond, 2024).
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May 1975
Friday, 30 May 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
'Black Thursday': sectarian kidnappings and killings in Beirut.
Sectarian abductions rose sharply on either side of the demarcation line after a Palestinian was killed and frightening rumours spread through Beirut. The worst came at Bashura, where Christians walking between Basta and the cemetery were abducted and some of them killed or mutilated. The Shiite gang Fityan Ali was blamed. De Clerck and Malsagne stress that this happened months before Black Saturday, often wrongly called the war's first massacre.
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September 1975
Saturday, 13 September 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Deir Achache in Akkar falls; three priests are killed.
Three priests were shot and the inhabitants expelled when Saiqa and fedayeen fighters seized Deir Achache, a Christian village in Akkar.
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October 1975
Thursday, 30 October 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Yarmouk units enter the Bekaa near Zahleh.
Yarmouk units, a Palestinian force trained by the Syrian army, entered the Bekaa plain near Zahleh by way of Bar Elias. The bishop's diary shows that the Palestinian fighters in the district had until then been Fatah and its Lebanese allies.
Sources differ: Hanf dates the Yarmouk Brigade's crossing to 20 December.
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January 1976
Tuesday, 13 January 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Damour is completely encircled and heavily shelled.
With Damour now fully surrounded, its besiegers shelled the town heavily.
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Friday, 30 January 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
While the normalization process continued, the Superior Military Committee decided to dispatch the Lebanese Army to Damour, Mkalles, and Dbayeh, as well as to the road leading to the Beirut International Airport.
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Lieutenant Ahmed Khatib left the Hasbaya barracks and announced the creation, in the Bekaa, of the Army of Arab Lebanon.
What the books addHistorians date Lieutenant Ahmad al-Khatib's breakaway to 21 January (de Clerck and Malsagne, in the Bekaa) or 22 January (Julie Tegho Bou Nassif, from the diary of the Greek Catholic bishop of Zahleh); Hanf places the mutiny in the south. About 300-400 Muslim soldiers followed him at first. The entry of 30 January may record a later step.
Other dates in the books: Wednesday, 21 January 1976, Thursday, 22 January 1976
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May 1976
Sunday, 30 May 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An avalanche of missiles and shells hit Beirut while combats continued on all fronts. The bombings reached the airport, imposing the closure of runways to air traffic at night.
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July 1976
Tuesday, 13 July 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
William Hawi, commnander of the Kataeb military forces was shot and killed by a sniper whilst he was inspecting his forces on the edge of the Tel el Zaatar camp.
What the books addMénargues has William Hawi shot by a Palestinian sniper in June 1976, at the end of the Tal al-Za'tar siege; Traboulsi places it during the siege. Bashir Gemayel succeeded him as Kataeb militia chief.
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Friday, 30 July 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Khalil Salem, director-general of the Finance Ministry, is kidnapped.
Lebanese Arab Army officers wanted Khalil Salem, director general of the Finance Ministry, to sign false pay-slips, and he refused. Seized in West Beirut on his way to work, he was found shot dead in his car boot on 2 August. Nobody has identified his killers.
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October 1976
Wednesday, 13 October 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian forces take Bhamdoun.
Renewing their drive on Sidon, Syrian forces also took Bhamdoun on 13 October against stiff Palestinian resistance. The losses, with Saudi pressure, led Damascus to accept the Riyadh summit two days later.
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May 1977
Friday, 13 May 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An Antonov-12 air freighter belonging to the Polish company LOT crashed in the forest of Aramoun. The airplane that was returning from Warsaw carried a shipment of meat and seven crewmembers who perished in the accident.
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June 1977
Thursday, 30 June 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
On the last day of its full-powers, the Council of Ministers published a series of decree-laws. The most important ones stipulated the revision of certain laws relative to the Lebanese University, the amendment of some press censorship laws, and the adoption of the mandatory car insurance.
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July 1977
March 1978
June 1978
Tuesday, 13 June 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A dramatic event was reported in Zghorta. A chock commando killed Tony Frangieh, deputy and son of the President Sleiman Frangieh, his wife Vera and their daughter Jihane, at their home in Ehden. The murder of Tony Frangieh took place while the conflict between the Phalange Party and the Zghortiotes was at its peak.
What the books addHistorians date the Ehden killings to 13 June (de Clerck and Malsagne) or 14 June (Hanf). A unit of some 200 men (Traboulsi) led by Samir Geagea attacked the Frangieh residence; besides Tony Frangieh, his wife and their three-year-old daughter, about thirty relatives and supporters were killed. The Phalange presented the raid as retaliation for the killing of their local leader Jud al-Bayeh in early June; Bashir Gemayel denied ordering the killing of the family. The raid also turned on control of the Chekka cement works. Syrian troops then occupied Ehden and much of the north.
Art and memory- book De Clerck and Malsagne refer to a 2016 article by Dan Naor on how the Frangieh family made Ehden a resistance myth.
- testimony Women mourners keened at Tony Frangieh's funeral in 1978 until his father, the former president, stepped in to quiet them.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 14 June 1978
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israel completes its withdrawal but hands the border strip to Major Haddad.
UNIFIL was kept out of a border belt 5 to 10 km deep that stayed in the hands of Major Saad Haddad's militia when Israeli troops officially left South Lebanon.
Sources differ: Hanf gives 12 June; Picard says July.
Other date in the books: Monday, 12 June 1978
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August 1978
March 1979
Tuesday, 13 March 1979
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Parliament adopts a law to rebuild the army and send it south.
The new defence law set up a Higher Defence Council and a Military Council, allocated military posts by sect among the six main communities, allowed the army to be used only with national consensus, and planned its deployment to the UNIFIL area in the south.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne give 13 March 1979 in their text and 13 May in their chronology, where the entry sits between February and March, so 13 May is probably a slip. Picard gives March 1979.
Other dates in the books: Wednesday, 18 April 1979, Sunday, 13 May 1979
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May 1979
Sunday, 13 May 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Amine Gemayel, deputy of the Northern Metn and member of the Phalange Party's political bureau, escaped from an assassination attempt that nearly cost him his two children's life. A plastic explosive (20 kg of TNT) tied to a 122 mm bomb placed in a trunk of a tree, exploded at the time Amine Gemayel's car went by. He was injured in the face. This incident caused a general strike in the Eastern regions.
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June 1979
Saturday, 30 June 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The 'race for peace' organized by the Lebanese Federation of Athletics under the patronage of L'orient-Le Jour was a manifestation of the Lebanese sportsmen in favor of national unity. Departed from Achrafieh, the 66 participants representing 18 clubs from all the Lebanese regions met in Manara after having crossed the Fouad Chehab Ring.
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August 1979
January 1980
February 1980
March 1980
Thursday, 13 March 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Fights opposed Amal to the Fateh, killing seven persons in the Ouzaï-Aramoun region. Leaders of the National Movement started to mediate between the two parties to end the dispute.
What the books addHanf: early in 1980 Amal fought the Iraqi-backed Arab Liberation Front in Beirut's suburbs while Fatah tried to mediate, as relations between Shi'is and Palestinians grew worse; the fighting later reached the south.
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June 1980
July 1980
August 1980
Wednesday, 13 August 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Sarkis rejected, in front of Gaston Thor, the President of the Council of Ministers of the EEC, the settlement of the Palestinians in Lebanon as part of the global settlement of the Middle East problem.
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October 1980
Monday, 13 October 1980
The Lebanese war · Added from the books day (visit 13-15 October)
A Lebanese Forces delegation in Israel sets out its plan to take power.
Following a visit by a Lebanese Forces military delegation, five LF political figures, Joseph Abou Khalil, Zahi Boustani, Selim Jahel, Antoine Najm and Assaad Chaftari, left Kaslik by boat on 13 October and landed in Haifa that evening. Over two days they briefed the head of the Mossad's Lebanon desk, Mossad director Yitzhak Hofi and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir on their plans. Shamir told them not to provoke Syria, to build up their strength and to repair their image in Washington.
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December 1980
Tuesday, 30 December 1980
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
A Christian–Druze draft agreement is written, then blocked by Damascus.
On 30 December Samir Frangieh set down Antoine Najm's proposals in a handwritten text countersigned by the Druze officer Riad Takieddine: a six-member cabinet including Bashir Gemayel and Walid Jumblatt, no use of Lebanese territory for aggression against Arab states, and sound relations with Syria. Damascus learned of the talks; Assad summoned Jumblatt and rejected any Druze–LF rapprochement, and Jumblatt dropped the idea.
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February 1981
Friday, 13 February 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The kidnapping on February 6 in Beirut of the chargé d'affaires of Jordan in Lebanon, remained at the center of preoccupation of the country's leaders. They adopted a series of security measures for the protection of embassies.
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A Syrian-Israeli air duel took place in the sky of the Bekaa region.
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March 1981
Friday, 13 March 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A Lebanese Army unit positioned in the Kantara locality following an agreement with the UNIFL commandant. On March 15, 50 soldiers deployed in the village of Chaqra. However, Saad Haddad was opposed to the reinforcement of the Army in the South.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The US ambassador hands Bashir Gemayel a secret policy paper.
US Ambassador John Gunther Dean gave Bashir Gemayel a secret cable prepared for him, 'Directives on Lebanon', dated 9 March, and offered to coordinate with him. Washington backed a gradual, total Syrian withdrawal and asked the 'Phalanges' (the Lebanese Forces) to show restraint and cooperate with the government and army.
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April 1981
Thursday, 30 April 1981
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Bashir Gemayel and Camille Chamoun meet Begin secretly in Jerusalem.
Late on 30 April an Israeli helicopter flew Bashir Gemayel and Camille Chamoun to Jerusalem. Around midnight Begin, with Shamir and his military and intelligence chiefs, told them Israel would act if Syria did not remove its SAMs from the Bekaa.
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May 1981
June 1981
Tuesday, 30 June 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
95 militiamen from the Lebanese Forces were evacuated from Zahleh with their individual weapons after having surrendered their heavy weapons to the Arab Strike Force and to the Internal Security Forces. An Internal Security Forces unit was positioned in the neighborhoods of Zahleh.
What the books addMénargues has some 600 Internal Security Forces gendarmes entering Zahleh on 30 June, ending the siege, and the 95 fighters from outside the town leaving by bus over a mountain road behind a Syrian colonel's car, past Syrian troops posted along it; Hanf says they left under Saudi escort. Siege toll: 200 dead and over 2,000 wounded (Ménargues), over 200 and 2,000 (de Clerck and Malsagne), 300 and 3,000 by the Phalange's count (Fisk).
Art and memory- place Of 38 civilians in a warehouse basement by Zahleh's disused railway, one child survived when tank fire toppled the building; after the siege Fisk also found the town's dead under wooden crosses in a makeshift graveyard.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 1 July 1981
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August 1981
Sunday, 30 August 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Internal Security Forces destroyed the illegal constructions in Ouzaï.
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Claude Cheysson, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared after his 24-hour visit to Lebanon: 'It would be criminal to question the unity of Lebanon'.
What the books addClaude Cheysson met Yasser Arafat in Beirut on 30 August. De Clerck and Malsagne see the meeting as a sign of France's new pro-Palestinian line under Mitterrand.
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October 1981
Friday, 30 October 1981
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israeli plans for an invasion of Lebanon presented to Sharon.
On 30 October Israel's northern command put three invasion plans to Defence Minister Ariel Sharon, from 'Little Pines', taking the south up to Sidon, to 'Big Pines', fighting Syria throughout Lebanon and clearing Beirut.
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November 1981
January 1982
Wednesday, 13 January 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Algerian envoy in Beirut is kidnapped and killed.
Three gunmen seized Algeria's envoy, a minister plenipotentiary serving as ambassador, at his West Beirut home; his mutilated body later turned up on waste ground. Algeria afterwards charged his widow with ordering the killing.
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February 1982
Saturday, 13 February 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A car bomb exploded next to the Palestinian camp of Ain El Heloueh killing 6 persons and injuring 12 others.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne, drawing on Ronen Bergman, attribute to Ariel Sharon a series of car bombings from October 1981, carried out under the name 'Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners' and aimed chiefly at Palestinians, to provoke retaliation that could justify an invasion. They list no individual attacks, so this bombing cannot be matched to their account.
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June 1982
Sunday, 13 June 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Israeli troops attacked Baabda where they occupied the Seraglio and the governmental hospital.
What the books addOn 13 June Israeli forces reached Baabda and Yarze, seats of the presidency and the army command, and joined the Lebanese Forces' lines (Hanf, Ménargues); Fisk dates the arrival of Sharon and his forward troops at Baabda to just before midnight.
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August 1982
Monday, 30 August 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Yasser Arafat leaves Beirut by sea.
The last units of Syria's 85th Brigade left by road the day Arafat sailed. After stopping at Walid Jumblatt's house he boarded the Greek ship Atlantis with several hundred fighters, protected by French legionnaires and US Marines, and reached Tunis, the PLO's new headquarters, via Athens.
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October 1982
Wednesday, 13 October 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Israelis interfered in Kfarmatta to end the violent conflict between the Phalange Party and the SPP..
What the books addAfter the Israeli advance, Lebanese Forces militiamen set up checkpoints in the Chouf and Aley; clashes with Druze fighters followed and the Israelis often mediated (Hanf). De Clerck and Malsagne date the 'Mountain War' from summer 1982, the Lebanese Forces fighting first the SSNP's Druze and then the PSP.
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January 1983
Thursday, 13 January 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The sixth Lebanese-American-Israeli round of negotiations took place in Kyriet Shmona, Israel. Five points were put on the agenda: 1- Ending the state of war. 2- Reaching security arrangements. 3- Establishing a framework for mutual relations, including matters such as liaison, and end of propaganda... 4- Completing the withdrawal program: conditions for the Israeli withdrawal within the context of a withdrawal of all foreign forces. 5- Giving eventual guarantees
What the books addLebanese and Israeli delegates met in turn at Khalde, in a repaired beach hotel, and at Kiryat Shmona. De Clerck and Malsagne count 37 meetings over 138 days, from December 1982 to May 1983.
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Sunday, 30 January 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A bomb storm fell on East Beirut. While a constructive beginning of the week was expected, mainly concerning the project of a disarmed and open 'Greater Beirut', blind violence hit again. Following the degradation of the situation in the mountain between the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party, mortar shells, Katiouchas and other Grad fell on East Beirut causing important material damages.
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March 1983
Sunday, 13 March 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The negotiations that were taking place in Washington, in view of an Israeli troops withdrawal from Lebanon, seemed to have reached some progress. Back to Lebanon, an attack against an Israeli patrol in Jiyeh provoked the death of three soldiers.
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April 1983
Wednesday, 13 April 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
General Moussa Kanaan was appointed new CEO of Télé-Liban.
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The French soldiers of the Multinational Force dug out a 1000 kilos bomb dropped by an Israeli airplane during the summer of 1982 and buried next to a building. 15000 persons were evacuated from their homes.
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November 1983
Wednesday, 30 November 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Gemayel met with the American President at the White House.
What the books addHanf writes that in Washington on 1 December the Americans pressed Gemayel to come to terms with the Druze and Shi'is and ruled out any change to the 17 May agreement.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 1 December 1983
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March 1984
Friday, 30 March 1984
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The US Sixth Fleet leaves the waters off Beirut.
The US Sixth Fleet remained off Beirut until 30 March 1984, a month after the Marines had been evacuated between 7 and 26 February.
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April 1984
Monday, 30 April 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The new national union government was as follows: Rachid Karameh: President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Osseirane: Minister of Defense and Agriculture Nabih Berri: Minsiter of Hydroelectric resources and Justice Camille Chamoun: Minster of Finance, Housing, and Cooperatives Pierre Gemayel: Minster of Posts and Telecommunications, Health and Social Affairs. Walid Joumblatt: Minister of Public Works, and Tourism Selim Hoss: Minister of Labor and National Education Joseph Skaff: Minister of Information Abdallah Racy: Minister of Interior Victor Cassir: Minister of Economy and Trade and Minister of Industry and Oil
What the books addPicard dates the government to the beginning of May 1984. Portfolios differ by source: de Clerck and Malsagne give Jumblatt Public Works and Transport, Tourism, and a Ministry of State for Reconstruction and the South. Picard says the 'Ministry of the South' was created in 1984 for the Shi'is, that is, for Berri. Picard also counts Frangieh's son-in-law among the ministers.
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August 1984
Monday, 13 August 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The exchange rate of the dollar reached 6.20 LP.
The rise of the American dollar continued until the end of the year. The depreciation of the Lebanese Pound was due to political as well as economic difficulties in the country. Besides, the government was profoundly divided and unable to meet.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne give 8.7 pounds to the dollar for 1984 (no month stated) and date the start of the pound's collapse to the last quarter of 1984 (30% devaluation that year). Picard: prices rose eightfold from summer 1984 to summer 1987.
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December 1984
Thursday, 13 December 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Israelis launched a wide repression operation in South Lebanon. 3,000 men searched the region for members of the Resistance and arrested several of them.
What the books addFisk counts a hundred attacks on Israeli forces in December 1984, when the Sayeret Matkal commandos searched villages east of Tyre on foot and Shin Bet men beat youths each time. De Clerck and Malsagne date the complete sealing-off of the Israeli-held zone from the rest of Lebanon to autumn 1984.
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April 1985
Tuesday, 30 April 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
It was hell in Beirut. Insane bombing continued in both sectors of the capital, crossing points had been closed illustrating the gravity of the situation, while 20,000 Christians from South Lebanon took refuge in the region of Marjeyoun.
What the books addIsraeli helicopters dropped leaflets urging the Christians who fled in 1985 to stay in the occupied zone; most went north to the Christian areas. Hanf counts 86,000 refugees in Jezzine and the zone.
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July 1985
Tuesday, 30 July 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Syria delivered 46 tanks to the Amal movement while surprise bombardments continued in Beirut and civilians were still being kidnapped on the crossing points.
What the books addHanf counts fifty tanks for Amal, thirty for the army's Sixth Brigade and none for the PSP; Picard mentions T-54 tanks.
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August 1985
Friday, 30 August 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese Forces ended their military presence in Zahleh and closed their offices in the town.
What the books addHanf dates the Lebanese Forces' withdrawal to 31 August, after Shia militias had shelled Zahleh from 11 August and Christian notables mediated; Syrian troops entered on 7 September.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 11 August 1985
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dates 1–60 of 99 next
