265 entries on 245 dates · the books disagree on 55
dates 1–60 of 245 next
November 1969
Monday, 3 November 1969
The road to war · From the books
The Cairo Agreement is signed between the Lebanese army and the PLO.
Only Raymond Eddé and his bloc voted against the agreement, which deputies ratified without seeing its full, secret text. Concluded in Cairo through Egyptian mediation by Yasir Arafat and army commander General Emile Bustani, it affirmed Lebanese sovereignty but let guerrillas keep armed units in the camps and observation posts near the border and move to and from the Arqoub.
Sources differ: Three dates: 3 November (de Clerck & Malsagne, Traboulsi's chronology; Hanf's negotiation of 1-3 November ends that day), 8 November (Traboulsi's chapter 9) and 13 November (Picard). 3 November has the most, and mutually independent, support; Traboulsi contradicts himself.
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November 1972
Friday, 3 November 1972
The road to war · From the books
Workers at the Ghandour factories begin an open-ended strike.
On 3 November 1972 an indefinite strike began at the Ghandour confectionery group, Lebanon's largest non-unionised industrial workforce. Workers wanted their factory committee recognised, the right to unionise, equal wages for women and higher pay.
Sources differ: Workforce: 1,200 in Shiyah (Traboulsi) or about 1,250 in Choueifat plus 350 in Chiyah (Tufaro).
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April 1973
Tuesday, 10 April 1973
The road to war · From the books
Israeli commandos kill three PLO leaders in rue Verdun, Beirut.
During the night of 9 to 10 April, Israeli commandos came ashore and drove into West Beirut in hired cars. Fatah's Abu Yusuf al-Najjar and Kamal Adwan and the poet Kamal Nasser, PLO spokesman, were killed at home, within about a hundred metres of a police barracks; commandos also landed at Sidon. By the time the army was alerted, the raiders had left.
Sources differ: Operation name: 'Verdun' (de Clerck & Malsagne chronology), 'Wrath of God' (de Clerck & Malsagne, p. 50) or 'Aviv Ne'urim' (Ménargues). Fisk adds that the wife of one leader was killed; de Clerck & Malsagne mention civilian collateral victims. Hanf alone mentions targets in Sidon.
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May 1973
Wednesday, 2 May 1973
The road to war · From the books
Heavy fighting as the army rings Beirut's Palestinian camps.
More than 100 Lebanese and Palestinians were killed in two weeks of fighting that began on 2 May, when the army deployed around Beirut's largest Palestinian camps; the CIA called these the worst clashes since 1969. Uprisings broke out in Sidon and Tripoli, and Beirut's Muslim neighbourhoods filled with demonstrators.
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Thursday, 3 May 1973
The road to war · From the books day (disputed)
The Lebanese air force bombs Palestinian camps in Beirut.
The Lebanese air force was used against the camps: Hanf writes that it bombed Burj al-Barajneh in response to rockets launched at the airport from inside the camp.
Sources differ: 3 May and Burj al-Barajneh (Traboulsi) against 2 May and the Sabra-Shatila area (de Clerck & Malsagne); Hanf gives Burj al-Barajneh without a day. They may be separate raids.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 2 May 1973
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Thursday, 17 May 1973
The road to war · From the books
The Melkart protocol ends the army-PLO fighting.
On 17 May, after Frangieh bowed to Arab pressure and halted the army, a West Beirut hotel hosted the Melkart signing: no more Palestinian raids into Israel, and a joint army-Palestinian commission. Hanf says it reaffirmed Cairo and proved as ineffective.
Sources differ: 17 May (de Clerck & Malsagne, Picard) or end of fighting on 18 May followed by the agreement (Hanf). De Clerck & Malsagne say it amended the Cairo Agreement; Hanf that it reaffirmed it.
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April 1974
Tuesday, 2 April 1974
The road to war · From the books
Left-wing union federations call their own general strike.
The leftist federations called a general strike on their own, after a big demonstration against inflation. Tufaro says it opened the way to the first real gains: peasants entered the social security fund, and Article 50 of the Labour Law, which let employers sack workers at will, was partly reformed.
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January 1975
Friday, 3 January 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
South Lebanon was bombarded
Israeli bombing made the inhabitants of South Lebanon go through dramatic moments. Six persons were killed, five were wounded, six villagers were kidnapped, and 13 houses were destroyed. The army and the Fedayin fought with the enemy. Twice, the Lebanese repelled incursion attempts.
What the books addJanuary 1975 saw heavy Israeli attacks on the South. Israeli forces razed Kfar Chouba, a border village, about a week after 7 January (Hanf), and Palestinian commandos shelled army positions in Tyre during border clashes with the Lebanese army (de Clerck and Malsagne). The figures for 3 January come from contemporary press reports.
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February 1975
Monday, 3 February 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After a debate that lasted 15 days, the conclave chose unanimously a neutralist candidate. Mgr Antonios Khoreiche was the new Patriarch of Antioch and the Middle East.
What the books addAntoine Khuraych headed the Maronite Church from his election on 3 February 1975 (enthronement 9 February) until 1986, styling himself the 'patriarch of dialogue'.
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July 1975
Wednesday, 2 July 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Al-Qaa, a Christian village of the northern Bekaa, comes under attack.
Several villagers were killed and houses and fields burned when gunmen besieged al-Qaa, a Christian village by the Syrian border. De Clerck and Malsagne date the Christian exodus from the northern Bekaa from this attack. Amal fighters from neighbouring villages later shielded al-Qaa and other Christian villages.
Sources differ: Attackers: fedayeen (Tegho Bou Nassif), local Shiites (de Clerck and Malsagne), or Fatah, Saiqa, SSNP, Communists and a Shiite clan (Hanf). Dead: 5 or 7. Hanf places the attack before the Karami cabinet was formed (late June).
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September 1975
Tuesday, 2 September 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Fedayeen stab to death the Christian owner of a Ta'labaya wheat mill and his two sons.
At Ta'labaya near Zahleh, a Christian wheat-mill owner and his two sons were knifed to death by intruding fedayeen.
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Wednesday, 10 September 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
General Said, 52 years old, replaced General Ghanem at the head of the army.
What the books addHanf: Franjieh accepted Karami's condition for sending the army between Tripoli and Zgharta, Ghanem's removal; his replacement, Hanna Said, was a 'politically uncontentious' colonel.
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Wednesday, 17 September 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books range
Fighting reaches downtown Beirut; the souks are destroyed.
On the night of 17-18 September the war reached central Beirut. The old souks, where Christian and Muslim traders alike worked, were largely destroyed by Kataeb shelling.
Sources differ: Existing entry 28 records the fighting on 19 September.
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October 1975
Thursday, 2 October 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Rachid Karameh presided the meeting of the Ç National Committee for dialog È at the Serail. The committee decided that all armed elements will have to back up from their positions before the next day and will be replaced by Interior Security Forces.
What the books addFormed in September 1975 through Syria's foreign minister Abdel Halim Khaddam, the National Dialogue Committee of some twenty leaders debated secularism and ending sectarian quotas; Hanf says it broke up empty-handed.
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November 1975
Sunday, 2 November 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Chuchu, the famous actor died from a hart attack. His real name was Hassan Alaeddine, the friend of younger and older kids was the most popular comedian on stage and on TV.
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Monday, 10 November 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An emissary of Pope Paul VI arrived to Beirut holding a papal message
Cardinal Bertoli called all leaders to start working for the restoration of peace.
What the books addCardinal Paolo Bertoli's mission lasted from 9 to 14 November 1975 (de Clerck and Malsagne's chronology). Like the French envoy Couve de Murville, he backed a limited revision of the National Pact.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 9 November 1975
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February 1976
March 1976
April 1976
Friday, 2 April 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A ten-day truce had bee decided, in order to elect a new President of the Republic after the expected departure of Sleiman Frangieh.
What the books addParliament used the truce to amend Article 73 of the constitution so that Frangieh's successor could be elected early: on 9 April according to Hanf, 10 April according to Yara El Khoury. The truce had coincided with the arrival on 31 March of the US envoy Dean Brown.
Other dates in the books: Wednesday, 31 March 1976, Friday, 9 April 1976, Saturday, 10 April 1976
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Saturday, 10 April 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Christian fighters clash among themselves in Zahleh.
Three fighters died when members of the Tajammu', Zahleh's Christian militia, fired on one another; the clash, during the manoeuvring before Syrian troops entered the town, split the group.
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June 1976
Wednesday, 2 June 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The residents of Beirut and its surroundings were living in the dark. The last cable supplying the capital with power had been broken. Daily life was very difficult.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Bashir Gemayel and Kamal Jumblatt meet secretly.
For an end to military pressure on Bikfaya, Bashir Gemayel offered Kamal Jumblatt full secularisation when they met secretly in West Beirut; Jumblatt offered to keep a Maronite president and a senate. Both opposed the Syrian intervention. That day the Lebanese Front, in its last statement of the year, asked Frangieh to coordinate with Sarkis.
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Thursday, 17 June 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books 17-19 June
President Assad makes an official visit to Paris.
In de Clerck and Malsagne's view, Hafez al-Assad's official visit to Paris signalled implicit French backing for Syria's intervention on the Christians' side.
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August 1976
Tuesday, 17 August 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Upper-Metn battle started. Over 600 shells fell on Faraya-Oyoune El Simane while Palestinians and Progressive forces continued their insane bombing of the capital.
What the books addHanf has the Syrian army moving again only once Tal al-Za'tar had fallen, increasing pressure on the encircled Palestinian and leftist forces in the Upper Metn; these were expelled at the end of September.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 12 August 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Amine Gemayel lists atrocities attributed to the defenders of Tal al-Za'tar.
Days after Tal al-Za'tar fell, Amine Gemayel told a press conference the camp's Palestinian fighters and allies had committed some twenty atrocities. De Clerck and Malsagne cite this as leaders inventing or inflating enemy crimes to justify operations.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 12 August 1976
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October 1976
Sunday, 3 October 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese leaders went to Paris for consultations. Kamal Joumblatt and Pierre Gemayel believed that France should help find a solution to the Lebanese crisis.
What the books addTalks in France with the government and Mitterrand's opposition left Jumblatt sure that France could do nothing in Lebanon against Syrian and US opposition (Traboulsi). His tour, by boat from encircled West Beirut to Cyprus, then Cairo, Algiers and Paris, sought Arab contingents to offset the Syrians.
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Sunday, 17 October 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A restricted summit was held in Ryad.
While shells kept falling by hundreds on residential neighborhoods in Beirut, killing and injuring tens of persons, an Arab summit was held in Ryad attended by Presidents Elias Sarkis, Anwar Sadate, Hafez El Assad, the Emir of Kuwait, King Khaled of Saudi Arabia, and Yasser Arafat chairman of the PLO.
This meeting aimed at reaching an agreement ending the Lebanese crisis. It contained the following clauses:
•Starting October 21, putting a final end to fights on all the Lebanese territory.
•Reinforcing the Arab Peace Force in Lebanon
•Entrusting the Arab Strike Force counting 30,000 men, with the duty of ending the combats and repressing any party that violates the cease-fire. It was also in charge of executing the Cairo agreement, as well as maintaining security in the country, collecting heavy armaments and helping the Lebanese authorities to regain control of all public services and institutions.
What the books addRatified by an Arab summit in Cairo on 25 October, the Riyadh decisions required all parties to surrender heavy weapons and the Palestinians to return to the zones granted by the 1969 Cairo Agreement, and created a 30,000-man Arab Deterrent Force under President Sarkis, its largest contingent by far, 25,000-27,000 men, being the Syrian troops already in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia had sent the invitations on 15 October; the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon met the PLO chairman in Riyadh on 16, 17 or 18 October, depending on the historian. The cease-fire's start is dated 16 October (Hanf), 21 October (Traboulsi) or 15 November (de Clerck and Malsagne).
Other dates in the books: Friday, 15 October 1976, Saturday, 16 October 1976, Monday, 18 October 1976
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January 1977
Monday, 3 January 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A violent explosion shook the district of Accoui in Achrafieh causing 26 dead and 70 injured.
Shattered glass fell all over the streets hitting several vehicles. The death toll rose to 50 by the next morning.
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March 1977
Thursday, 10 March 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The cost of living had substantially increased in Lebanon. Meat, sugar, cheese, oil and chicken tripled since before 1975. Fares varied from a region to another due to the lack of control.
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Thursday, 17 March 1977
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Kamal Jumblatt is buried at Mukhtara; his son Walid succeeds him.
Before the burial, Sheikh Aql Abu Shakra laid Kamal Jumblatt's black cloak on the shoulders of his son Walid, not yet thirty; by this rite Walid succeeded him at the head of the family, the Druze, the PSP and the National Movement. He soon sided with Syria.
Sources differ: Ménargues calls 17 March the day of the assassination; de Clerck and Malsagne date it 16 March, which would make 17 March the burial.
Art and memory- testimony Kamal Jumblatt's funeral, where white-veiled women mourners appeared to talk to the dead leader.
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May 1977
August 1977
Wednesday, 3 August 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The American Secretary of State, Cyrus Vans arrived to Beirut as part of a Middle East tour. He was welcomed in Baabda by President Sarkis. The meetings covered essentially the situation in the south and the American guarantees regarding an eventual Israeli military action in that region. Lebanese officials discussed with Vance the possibility of dispatching United Nations contingents to Southern Lebanon.
What the books addVance's airport motorcade skirted Sabra and Chatila after a Beirut visit, dated by Fisk to autumn 1977, to hear the government's views on the Palestinians' future.
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October 1977
Monday, 3 October 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After having pointed out the unusual increase of the number of refugees on the Lebanese territory, Fouad Boutros, Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared to the United Nations: 'Lebanon pays for the mistakes committed by the others.'
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Monday, 17 October 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Strong effervescence reigned in Nabaa, as a result of rumors over an apparition of Saint Charbel followed by miraculous recoveries. Thousands of sick people hurried to the scene.
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January 1978
February 1978
May 1978
Tuesday, 2 May 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A fight opposed the UNIFL and the Palestinians. The French barrack in Tyr was bombed and the commander of the French contingent was seriously injured.
What the books addColonel Jean Germain Salvan was badly hurt in both legs in early May, Fisk writes, when dissident PLO gunmen fired on the Fatah jeep carrying him, killing a French soldier and his Palestinian driver; Arafat called it a crime. Hanf adds that such losses made the French unit much more careful.
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June 1978
Saturday, 17 June 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Sleiman Frangieh declared that no Phalangist member will stay alive in the North of Lebanon. The vendetta caused the death of tens of persons. Phalangist militiamen were forced to flee towards Batroun then Jbeil.
What the books addHanf writes that the Lebanese Front was left with an enclave of roughly a tenth of Lebanon once Syrian troops had moved into the northern Christian mountains, Koura, Batroun and the coast as far as the Madfoun bridge. Frangieh gave Kataeb members in the north until the month's end to give up their weapons and quit the party, or else leave.
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July 1978
August 1978
Thursday, 10 August 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
While the bombardment of Acharafieh continued, the Arab Strike Force evacuated twelve positions in this district. Christian parties requested the evacuation of the Port and the Karantina and that Saudis and Sudanese soldiers replace the Syrian soldiers.
What the books addAvoiding the risk of hitting their own men, and leaving positions hard to hold, were the main aims of the Syrian pull-back in Hanf's reading: a tactical move.
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September 1978
Sunday, 10 September 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Imam Moussa Sadr, a Shiite leader disappeared while visiting Libya. Libyans asserted that he left Tripoli for Rome. Sadr never arrived to Rome, and the Lebanese were worried.
What the books addMusa al-Sadr travelled to Libya on 25 August (de Clerck and Malsagne) at the invitation of the Libyan government (Ménargues) and was never seen again; Hanf dates the disappearance to September. Beirut papers speculated about the Shah's secret police or Libyan intelligence. Fisk writes that he was almost certainly killed in Libya. The loss mobilised the Shi'a and later strengthened Amal.
Other dates in the books: Friday, 25 August 1978, Wednesday, 13 September 1978
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Sunday, 17 September 1978
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Egypt and Israel sign the Camp David accords.
Syria could not prevent the Camp David accords, which Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin signed with President Carter as sponsor. Damascus drew closer to the PLO, and within days its guns were again heavily shelling East Beirut.
Sources differ: Hanf gives 18 September and calls it the 'peace treaty'; the treaty itself was signed in March 1979 (Traboulsi).
Other date in the books: Monday, 18 September 1978
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October 1978
Tuesday, 3 October 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
France took the initiative of a cease-fire in Beirut and suggested the repositioning of the Arab Strike Force, as well as the interposition of a Lebanese Force between the belligerents.
Other date in the books: Monday, 16 October 1978
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March 1979
Saturday, 17 March 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Saudi soldiers packed and got ready to leave Lebanon without warning. The next day, after it had been decided that 1200 Lebanese soldiers would replace them, the Saudis changed their minds.
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April 1979
Tuesday, 10 April 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Israel launched a double air strike against military targets in Tyr and Damour. 3 people dead and 15 injured were reported. President Hoss began an Arab tour trying to obtain the renewal of the mandate of the Arabic Strike Force.
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May 1979
June 1979
July 1979
August 1979
Friday, 17 August 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
While the truce was being confirmed at the port and downtown, the situation escalated in the South where the Israeli artillery and Saad Haddad's artillery bombarded several localities. In the North, the Marada attacked a Phalange checkpoint in Barbara located between Jbeil and Batroun. The operation resulted in 3 dead and 5 injured among the Phalangist militiamen.
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September 1979
October 1979
Wednesday, 17 October 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A wooden Christ that has been in the Ain Trez Greek Catholic convent since the last century could be the work of Michel-Angelo. The authenticity of this work had been guaranteed with 90% confidence by a first appraisal in Rome last September.
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January 1980
Wednesday, 2 January 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The chief of the 'Iranian volunteers', Hodjatolislam Mohammed Montazeri, held a press conference in Beirut during which he reasserted his men's determination to go to South Lebanon to 'fight imperialism and Zionism.' And he added: 'We will come by thousands.'
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne have Iranian clerics and activists settling in the Bekaa, and then in Tyre, from 1980, before 500 to 2,000 Revolutionary Guards entered Lebanon in June 1982.
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February 1980
Sunday, 3 February 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Arab Strike Force units stationed in Beirut projected to withdraw towards Aley in the next few days. The decision surprised the government and the chief of State presided a meeting to study how to fill the gap.
What the books addHistorians describe the Syrian pull-back from Beirut in 1980 as a redeployment to the Bekaa and to mountain positions overlooking the capital, with a garrison kept in West Beirut (Hanf). The Lebanese army could not replace the departing Arab Deterrent Force everywhere (Picard).
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April 1980
Thursday, 10 April 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Israelis settled in the UNIFL zone, but withdrew progressively in the following days. Beirut called upon the Security Council to convene urgently.
What the books addFisk: violating the UN's agreements with Israel, Haddad's militia set up positions inside the UNIFIL zone in spring 1980, beside At-Tiri, near Beit Yahoun and at ruined Rashaf, where it parked a Sherman tank reached by a road built with Israeli help.
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May 1980
dates 1–60 of 245 next
