159 entries on 147 dates · the books disagree on 41
dates 1–60 of 147 next
April 1969
Thursday, 24 April 1969
The road to war · From the books
A state of emergency is declared.
Under a state of emergency from 24 April, the day after the shootings, Jumblatt said curbs on the guerrillas helped only Israel, while Karami held that Lebanon must defend its sovereignty.
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March 1970
Wednesday, 25 March 1970
The road to war · From the books
Bashir Gemayel is kidnapped and held in Tall al-Za'tar.
Kamal Jumblatt's intervention with Yasir Arafat freed Bashir Gemayel, the Kataeb leader's younger son, seized by Palestinians and held in Tall al-Za'tar camp.
Sources differ: Hanf: 25 March 1970, held eight hours. Ménargues: 1969, adding he was beaten. Jumblatt became interior minister after the November 1969 Cairo Agreement (Hanf), which fits late 1969 or 1970.
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May 1971
Tuesday, 25 May 1971
The road to war · From the books day (planned strike)
A general strike set for 25 May is put off after a 5 per cent wage rise.
The General Workers' Union set a general strike for 25 May 1971 but deferred it when a 5 per cent wage rise was decreed. It sought 11 per cent more pay, lower rents, state imports of medicines and basic foods, a law for farm labourers and no more arbitrary dismissals.
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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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May 1975
Saturday, 24 May 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Musa al-Sadr disowns the 'Fityan Ali' gang.
Imam Musa al-Sadr declared that Harakat Fityan Ali, a Shiite gang led by Ahmad Safwan from Nabaa and Bourj Hammoud, was not part of his Movement of the Deprived. Six days later the gang was accused of the Black Thursday killings of Christians.
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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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June 1975
Tuesday, 24 June 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
A third round of fighting begins between Christian militias and Palestinians.
Christian militias and Palestinian fighters began a third round, which took fighting beyond Beirut to Damour, Sidon, Zahleh and Tripoli.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne's own narrative dates the third round to the end of July.
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August 1975
Sunday, 24 August 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
A bomb in Zahleh's Wadi al-Arayish draws the town into the war.
On 24 August 1975 Palestinian fighters planted a bomb in Wadi al-Arayish, Zahleh's tourist quarter: four months after Beirut, the war reached the Bekaa's chief town.
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September 1975
Thursday, 25 September 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Guardians of the Cedars issue their first communiqué.
Al-Nahar carried the first communiqué of the Guardians of the Cedars, Etienne Sakr's radical nationalist militia, whose thinking drew on the poet Said Akl. El Khoury thinks it had formed some months earlier.
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October 1975
Saturday, 25 October 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
50 000 Lebanese demonstrated against violence in Lebanon, in response to the call launched by Cherif Akhaoui, the radio journalist famous for his security bulletins.
What the books addHaugbolle notes widespread protests on National Day in November 1975; Hanf places the war's first demonstration in that month, when gunmen held fire until tens of thousands from East and West Beirut, summoned by television announcer Sharif Akhawi, had gone home.
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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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December 1975
Wednesday, 24 December 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Zahleh's bishop appeals publicly for his besieged town.
'The cause of Zahleh' (qadiyyat Zahleh) was Bishop Bassul's theme in a public appeal on Christmas Eve, as people sheltered: the town, he said, was alone.
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January 1976
Saturday, 24 January 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Saadiyat falls; Camille Chamoun is evacuated.
Palestinian and leftist forces took Saadiyat, next to Damour, the site of Camille Chamoun's home. Helicopters and boats got its residents out, Chamoun included.
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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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March 1976
Wednesday, 24 March 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israel sets the 'red lines' for a Syrian intervention.
An Israeli memorandum of 24 March 1976 barred any Syrian force above brigade strength or movement over 10 km south of the Beirut-Damascus road. On 23 March Israel had told Washington it would take strategic positions in Lebanon if Syria intervened.
Sources differ: Traboulsi adds that Israel publicly set the Litani as the red line on 21 April.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 23 March 1976
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Thursday, 25 March 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The presidential palace at Baabda is shelled; Frangieh leaves for Kfour.
With the Baabda palace shelled by the Lebanese Arab Army and the Joint Forces, Frangieh moved to Kfour in Kesrouan, where he joined Chamoun, Gemayel and Father Qassis on the Lebanese Front, formed in late May.
Sources differ: Traboulsi says Frangieh took refuge 'in East Beirut'; de Clerck and Malsagne, Yara El Khoury and Hanf name Kfour in Kesrouan.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The unified command of the Lebanese Forces is announced.
Baabda palace was shelled that day. In the evening the Kataeb's Voice of Lebanon radio announced a unified command of the Lebanese Forces, joining the Tanzim, the Guardians of the Cedars, Chamoun's Tigers and the Kataeb militia.
Sources differ: Dates differ: Ménargues puts the founding of the Lebanese Forces' unified command on 31 August 1976, while El Khoury says the formal union was announced to Frangieh in early September.
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May 1976
Tuesday, 25 May 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Raymond Eddeh fell into an ambush between Nahr Ibrahim and Antelias. The Amid's car was riddled with over a hundred projectiles but he got away with only an injured leg.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne record three attempts on Raymond Eddé's life, one outside his home, before his voluntary exile in Paris from January 1977; Picard dates the exile to December 1976.
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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
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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September 1976
October 1976
Monday, 25 October 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Arab summit in Cairo endorses the Riyadh decisions.
Iraq and Libya alone objected when, on 25 October, a Cairo summit of the full Arab League endorsed the Riyadh decisions. Syria's troops in Lebanon became the Arab Deterrent Force, funded by the Arab oil states.
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January 1977
Monday, 24 January 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Government created an economic and social orientation body, called the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR).
What the books addIts unprecedented powers spanned planning, funding and running reconstruction. It replaced the Planning Ministry in 1977; Picard calls it the economy's 'superministry'.
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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
Sunday, 24 July 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
340 tourists made a brief stopover in Beirut. The Sol Phryne, a boat achieving a Mediterranean cruise, made a stopover in Beirut and its 340 passengers visited the capital for a few hours.
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Monday, 25 July 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An agreement was signed in Chtaura.
The technical four-party committee decided unanimously the following: -Approving the two plans of action for the execution of the Cairo agreement. -Entrusting the regular Lebanese forces and the Arab Strike Force with the supervision of their execution in all regions, including Southern Lebanon. -Starting the execution of the two plans of action on July 30, no armed elements will be allowed to circulate outside the camps. -Withdrawal of the Palestinian forces up to 15 kilometers north of the borderline with Israel.
What the books addSyria, Hanf writes, had lost interest in disarming the Palestinians by autumn 1977, with Sadat's initiative under way, and the deal soon counted for nothing. It had bound the PLO to keep out of a ten-kilometre belt beside the Israeli frontier and, chiefly, to halt raids and shelling across it.
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September 1977
Sunday, 25 September 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Following efforts deployed by the American government in Tel Aviv, a cease-fire came into effect in Southern Lebanon. During the past few days, fights reached their maximum intensity especially in the Khyam region.
What the books addIsrael's Christian allies emerged with a slightly wider strip, spanning nearly the whole frontier from sea to Hermon; Fisk dates the tank withdrawal to 26 September.
Other date in the books: Monday, 26 September 1977
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January 1978
February 1978
March 1978
May 1978
Wednesday, 24 May 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The PLO committed, in an official press release, to stop all military activities in South Lebanon and facilitate the UNIFL's task, in order to reestablish the Lebanese sovereignty in this region.
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August 1978
Thursday, 24 August 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The situation deteriorated suddenly in the North.
Eight persons were killed and 10 others wounded in an ambush between the Cazas of Koura and Batroun. The situation worsened on August 25. The Arab Strike Force launched a raking operation. Fights resulted in 20 deaths and did not end until August 26. The Arab Strike Force now controls all the region of Batroun while the Phalangists are settled in Jbeil.
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Friday, 25 August 1978
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Imam Musa al-Sadr travels to Libya, where he disappears.
Imam Musa al-Sadr, the Shi'i leader who founded the Movement of the Deprived and Amal, vanished after accepting an invitation to visit Libya.
Sources differ: Hanf says September; Fisk reported the disappearance on 13 September; original entry 212 has 10 September.
Art and memory- book Fouad Ajami's book on the imam, The Vanished Imam: Musa al-Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon (1986).
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March 1979
Saturday, 24 March 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
While Hoss was claiming the revision of the taking over operation, arguing that there are not enough soldiers nor material, combats were raging in the Batroun region between the Phalange Party and the Marada, followers of President Frangieh.
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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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October 1979
Thursday, 25 October 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese government who had just launched a wide offensive against barratry and smuggling, adopted serious measures to insure the supervision of the coasts and to prevent pirate cargos from accosting in the clandestine ports.
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January 1980
Friday, 25 January 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Fights opposed the Phalange Party and the NLP in Ehmej and Annaya. The road leading to Jbeil was closed. An acute crisis erupted between the two parties.
What the books addOne of many clashes between Kataeb and National Liberal militiamen: de Clerck and Malsagne count 46, with 200 dead, from 1976 to 1980, the latest wave running from 12 May 1979 to 2 July 1980 and reaching Achrafieh early in 1980. Ménargues traces the tension of early 1980 partly to disputes over dividing the arms Israel supplied.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 12 May 1979
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February 1980
Sunday, 24 February 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Selim Laouzi, owner of the Hawadess, a local newspaper, was kidnapped on the Beirut International Airport road. The kidnapping of this eminent figure of the Lebanese press provoked strong emotions in the political environment and the Editors Syndicate decided to call for a strike.
What the books addOfficially no killer was named, but al-Lawzi's murder was widely blamed on his criticism of Syrian rule (Fisk; Picard). Fisk: he was seized near a Syrian army checkpoint heading for the airport.
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April 1980
Thursday, 24 April 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Security Council adopted a resolution condemning the Israeli military intervention in Lebanon and the de facto alliance between Israel and Saad Haddad's militia. Washington suggested the creation of a special commission in charge of finding a final settlement in South Lebanon.
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June 1980
July 1980
August 1980
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
Tuesday, 24 February 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Shells from different calibers fell on the Eastern residential neighborhoods, spreading destruction, fires, and terror. The population wondered why these blind bombardments were perpetrated and until when would they continue.
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April 1981
Friday, 24 April 1981
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian helicopter-borne troops seize the summit of Mount Sannine.
Helicopter-borne Syrian special forces overran the Lebanese Forces' posts on Sannine's crest, among them the 'French Room', a mountain post the French built in 1939. Holding Sannine let the Syrians dominate the Christian region down to the coast. Israel's air strike of 28 April followed.
Sources differ: The date is disputed: 24 April (Ménargues), 26 April (Hanf), 21 April for a first landing and 27 April for the fort (Phalangists quoted by Fisk). Ménargues gives the most detail (hour, units, commander), but he relies heavily on Lebanese Forces sources.
Other dates in the books: Tuesday, 21 April 1981, Sunday, 26 April 1981
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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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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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July 1981
Friday, 24 July 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Philip Habib finally succeeded in his mission. A cease-fire was reached and accepted by both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
What the books addThe cease-fire came from separate talks with Israel and the PLO, helped by Saudi diplomats (Hanf), with the UN relaying to the PLO (Ménargues, Fisk). Border fire was to stop; Syria could keep its Bekaa missiles unused, and Israeli overflights continued. In Ménargues's account a last Israeli demand held up Israel's public acceptance for two days.
Other date in the books: Friday, 17 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
February 1982
Wednesday, 24 February 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A commando of the partisans of the Imam Moussa Sadr burst into the Beirut International Airport and took control of a Boeing 707 of the Kuwait Airways that had just landed with 195 passengers on board. The negotiations led to the release of the passengers. The commando members surrendered to the Arab Strike Force. After this incident, the Kuwaiti company interrupted its flights to Beirut.
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May 1982
Monday, 24 May 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A ferocious explosion hit the French embassy in Clémenceau killing 9 persons and wounding 26 others.
What the books addMalsagne counts eleven dead on the spot and many wounded. The Mar Takla chancery then gained weight and Baabda became the ambassador's residence.
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dates 1–60 of 147 next
