99 entries on 91 dates · the books disagree on 25
dates 1–60 of 91 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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May 1974
Friday, 31 May 1974
The road to war · From the books
Syria and Israel sign the Golan disengagement agreement.
When the Golan disengagement took effect, UN troops stood between the Syrian and Israeli armies. Hanf concludes that Lebanon's border was now the only front open to Palestinian armed action, and that Lebanon, main arena of the conflict since 1970, bore it alone.
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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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Saturday, 31 May 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Zahleh's young militia takes position above the town.
Tajammu fighters, from a Zahleh group of intellectuals and young men whose first leaflet appeared on 24 May, took the Virgin statue hill at the town's northern entrance, a front-line post watching the Saadnayel road.
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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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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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Saturday, 31 January 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The 'Front for Freedom and Man in Lebanon' is formed.
Maronites including Camille Chamoun, Pierre Gemayel and Father Charbel Qassis, with the Greek Orthodox Charles Malek, founded the short-lived Front for Freedom and Man in Lebanon, from which the Lebanese Front emerged months later.
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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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Wednesday, 31 March 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
US envoy Dean Brown arrives in Beirut.
Dean Brown recalled telling Maronite leaders that Syria, not American or international action, held the answer. Ford sent him to Beirut as envoy on Kissinger's advice; the US-brokered Syrian intervention took shape over his two-month stay.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's chronology gives 1 April.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 1 April 1976
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August 1976
Tuesday, 31 August 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Christian militias form a unified command, the Lebanese Forces.
Drawing lessons from Tal al-Za'tar, where Christian forces had fought under separate commands, Bashir Gemayel set up a unified command council, headed by himself, with two members per militia.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne date the official founding of the unified command to 25 March 1976 (see addition 1976-03-25-lf-command).
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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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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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January 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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Wednesday, 31 May 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A Sarkis-Assad summit was held in Lattaquieh. They discussed the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, the military cooperation between the two countries, and the difficulties encountered in the pacification process in Lebanon.
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July 1978
Monday, 31 July 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Lebanese Army units were dispatched to South Lebanon.
They remained there until the end of the year. Christian militias supported by Israel in the South stopped their advance.
What the books addHanf writes that Major Haddad's forces fired at Kaukaba on the units sent south in early August, men of the 'vanguard' Syria trusted, and drove them into retreat. Haddad later rebelled openly against the army command, and Israel took over paying his men.
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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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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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May 1979
Thursday, 31 May 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
At the meeting of the Security Council, Lebanon claimed the reinforcement of the UNIFL. Moreover, Beirut requested the condemnation of Israel and the re-activation of the Armistice Commission.
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August 1979
Friday, 31 August 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr, a general strike paralyzed Beirut. For the first time Sheikh Mohammed Mehdi chamseddine accused the Libyans of his disappearance.
Other date in the books: Friday, 25 August 1978
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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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May 1980
August 1980
October 1980
Friday, 31 October 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese army evacuated Ain el Remmaneh and gathered on the Damascus road and on major Streets.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne date Lebanese Forces control of East Beirut to this day; Ménargues dates the final takeover of Ain el-Remmaneh to late November. See the note on 27 October.
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December 1980
Wednesday, 31 December 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A Syrian-Israeli air fight took place in the Lebanese sky. Damascus admited that its two Migs were hit and that two Israeli airplanes were shot down. Tel-Aviv denied this information.
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January 1981
Saturday, 31 January 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A violent storm hit Lebanon.
50 cars were totally stuck between Sofar and Mdeirej and their occupants spent the night in their vehicles. The Army was able to rescue 200 persons in the mountain.
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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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March 1981
Tuesday, 31 March 1981
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian fire on a Lebanese Forces road crew above Zahleh sets off the battle.
Within two days of 31 March fighting had spread around Zahleh. It began when Syrian troops hit a bulldozer at work on a Lebanese Forces position with a rocket; the militia fired back, and a Syrian assault on a key LF position failed.
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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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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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November 1981
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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March 1982
Wednesday, 31 March 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A new car bomb exploded next to the Abed clock killing 2 persons and wounding 4 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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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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June 1982
Thursday, 24 June 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israeli forces drive the Syrian army out of Aley and Bhamdoun.
West Beirut ended up fully besieged: the Israeli navy blockaded the coast, while troops advancing east along both sides of the highway, despite the truce, cut the PLO and a Syrian brigade in the city off from Syria's main army.
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July 1982
Saturday, 24 July 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Bechir Gemayel announced his candidacy for the presidency of the Republic.
What the books addBashir Gemayel announced his candidacy on 24 July on the Kataeb radio Voice of Lebanon, introduced by his brother Amine (Ménargues; Hanf gives 25 July). The Lebanese Front had already endorsed him on 26 May.
Other dates in the books: Wednesday, 26 May 1982, Sunday, 25 July 1982
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Saturday, 31 July 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Around a hundred women from West Beirut headed by the Prime Minister's wife, Whajiha Wazzan, gathered in the American University of Beirut for an open sit-in to protest against the blockade of West Beirut.
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August 1982
September 1982
Friday, 24 September 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The French contingent of the multinational force arrived in Beirut; the Americans and Italians were on their way too.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 26 September 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Wave of abductions in West Beirut; Wadad Halwani's husband is taken from their home.
Hundreds of Lebanese Muslims and Palestinians were seized as army and Lebanese Forces units swept West Beirut when Amine Gemayel took office; many were never traced. On 24 September Wadad Halwani's husband was abducted at home in Ras al-Nabaa by two gunmen who said they belonged to a Lebanese state body. In 1982 she founded the Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon.
Art and memory- testimony Wadad Halwani's campaign began when her husband was abducted in 1982; 36 years later, on 12 November 2018, parliament passed Law 105.
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August 1983
Wednesday, 31 August 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Massacre of Christian villagers at Bmaryam.
Christians were massacred at Bmaryam, a mixed upper-Metn village; Christian radio blamed the Druze. De Clerck and Malsagne count 31 dead and date the 'Battle of the Mountain' from it.
Sources differ: 31 August (de Clerck and Malsagne's chronology; Fisk reports the radio news on 31 August) or 1 September (their chapter). 31 dead (de Clerck and Malsagne) or 24 (Christian radio reports cited by Fisk).
Other date in the books: Thursday, 1 September 1983
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October 1983
Monday, 24 October 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The French President Mitterand made a quick visit to Beirut and declared: ' We will stay'.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne note that no French president had visited Lebanon since independence before Mitterrand's trip.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 23 October 1983
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Monday, 31 October 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The dialog conference opened in Geneva. This national reconciliation conference represented the only hope for the Lebanese.
What the books addThe conference sat from 31 October to 4 November (Picard has 1 to 8 November), with Syria's foreign minister Khaddam present and Prime Minister Wazzan kept out by a Syrian veto. Amine Gemayel chaired; Camille Chamoun and Pierre Gemayel spoke for the Lebanese Front, Frangieh, Jumblatt and Karami for the opposition, Saeb Salam for the Sunnis, Adel Osseiran for the Shi'is.
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November 1983
March 1984
Saturday, 31 March 1984
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The last French soldiers of the Multinational Force leave Beirut.
France, first to arrive, withdrew its last MNF soldiers once every other contingent had gone; some stayed on as ceasefire observers.
Sources differ: The original (744) gives 25 March for the French departure.
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July 1984
Tuesday, 31 July 1984
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The last US Marines leave Beirut.
Helicopters lifted the Marines' rear guard, about a hundred men left to protect the British-American embassy compound in West Beirut, to US warships offshore.
Sources differ: Other books end the Marines' story in February (see 739 and the 26 February addition); this was a residual guard.
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October 1984
Wednesday, 31 October 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The United Nations Secretary General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, convoked a Lebanese-Israeli conference to be held on November 5 in Nakoura under the aegis of the United Nations. The negotiations aimed at making security arrangements for the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
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November 1984
Saturday, 24 November 1984
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
President Mitterrand visits Damascus.
Mitterrand's visit to Hafez al-Assad in Damascus, a few months after the Drakkar bombing, was seen as Assad humiliating France.
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January 1985
Thursday, 24 January 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The negotiations in Nakoura were suspended sine die after the two parties refused to moderate their positions.
What the books addPicard dates the end of the talks with Israel to January 1985 and links it to the Lebanese Forces' revolt two months later.
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April 1985
Wednesday, 24 April 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After 40 days of combats, the Lebanese Forces fighters started to withdraw from Saida. The Israelis continued their withdrawal in the West of the Bekaa region; only 12% of the Lebanese territory remained under their control. The Lebanese Army settled in the evacuated areas but the PSP positioned in the Barouk while the South Lebanon Army took position in Jezzine.
What the books addHanf: Lahad's South Lebanon Army halted the Palestinian and Sunni advance at Kfar Falous, midway between Sidon and Jezzine, and on 24 April the Lebanese Forces' fighters from other regions shipped out to Beirut with their heavy artillery. De Clerck and Malsagne date Lahad's creation of the SLA to April 1985, after Israel left Tyre.
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July 1985
Wednesday, 31 July 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Sleiman Frangieh and Elie Hobeika were reconciled.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Suicide car attack on an Israeli patrol at Arnoun.
Ali Ghaleb Taleb, 22, crashed his car into a patrol of Israeli soldiers in Arnoun.
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September 1985
Tuesday, 24 September 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A first Lebanese Forces-Amal-PSP meeting was held in Damascus.
What the books addIn Hanf's account Berri offered the Christians a choice: a census to reset sectarian proportions, or an end to proportionality. Asked by Jumblatt why Syria dealt with Hobeika, Khaddam reportedly said everyone in Lebanon was a murderer.
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February 1986
Monday, 24 February 1986
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Islamists killed a communist leader, Souheil Tawileh, in Mazraa. Four days earlier, another communist leader, Khalil Nous, was assassinated. Meanwhile, terrorist-killing attempts continued in the Eastern regions. A car bomb exploded on the Salomeh intersection, causing 4 dead and 16 injured.
What the books addPicard places the wave of killings of Communist and pro-Iraqi Baath leaders in January 1986.
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June 1986
Tuesday, 24 June 1986
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A buffer force from the Lebanese Army deployed around the Palestinian camps. Calm was back for good on June 28.
What the books addHanf says the army units around the camps were backed by a Syrian battalion.
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November 1986
Monday, 24 November 1986
The Lebanese war · Added from the books range
Palestinian fighters take Maghdousheh; the village changes hands three times.
Some residents of Maghdousheh, a Christian village, were evacuated as it changed hands: PLO fighters from the Sidon camps took it on 24 November, Amal on the 25th, the PLO on the 26th.
Sources differ: Entry 960 dates the fighting to 25 November.
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December 1986
Wednesday, 24 December 1986
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Aurel Cornea, one of the Antenne 2 journalists kidnapped on June 21, was released by the Organization of Revolutionary Justice.
What the books addThe Antenne 2 crew was kidnapped on 8 March 1986 (de Clerck and Malsagne), not on 21 June.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 8 March 1986
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January 1987
Saturday, 24 January 1987
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
While there were still no news about West German nationals Cordes and Schmidt, three Americans and one Indian holding a US passport were kidnapped at the Beirut University College campus, in Koraytem in Ras Beirut.
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dates 1–60 of 91 next
