93 entries on 90 dates · the books disagree on 93
dates 1–60 of 90 next
February 1972
February 1972: day not established
The road to war · From the books
The Israeli army invades the south as far as the Litani.
Picard counts over 100 dead and over 150 houses destroyed as Israeli troops, aiming to disable the fedayeen and their Lebanese backers, drove south to several points on the Litani.
Sources differ: Picard gives one toll, 'on each occasion', for this and the September 1972 invasion alike.
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June 1973
June 1973: day not established
The road to war · From the books
The future Lebanese National Movement is launched at the Byblos Cinema.
In June 1973 opponents of a draft law curbing political parties met in force at the Byblos Cinema and founded the Rally of National and Democratic Parties and Personalities, later the Lebanese National Movement.
Sources differ: De Clerck & Malsagne date Jumblatt's leadership of the National Movement from 1969; Traboulsi dates the launch of the Rally that became the LNM to June 1973. The two may refer to different stages.
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February 1974
early February 1974 (disputed year): day not established
The road to war · From the books
Another postponement of the general strike sets off wildcat strikes across Lebanon.
Wildcat actions broke out after the CGTL again postponed its general strike. For two days the workers' committees of Beirut's Mkalles–Tall al-Za'tar industrial belt kept the factories shut and nearby roads blocked, with about 10,000 workers. Tufaro also records some 20,000 students and workers cutting the Sidon–Beirut road, and protesters ransacking a union office in Tripoli.
Sources differ: Traboulsi dates this wave to 5-6 February 1973; Tufaro to February 1974, citing L'Orient-Le Jour of 7 February 1974 and placing it after the general strike of 28 August 1973 and months of postponements. The details are nearly identical, so it is probably one event; 1974 is preferred here because of Tufaro's dated press reference and sequence, but the day (5-6 February) comes from Traboulsi.
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June 1974
June 1974 (disputed): day not established
The road to war · From the books
The PLO will accept a Palestinian authority on any freed territory.
Fatah dropped its aim of a secular state for all Palestine. Ready now for a peace conference and a national authority on any liberated land, it faced a Rejectionist Front formed by opponents including the Popular Front; both, Hanf writes, fought mainly from Lebanon thereafter.
Sources differ: June 1974 (Hanf) or July 1974 (Picard).
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range: 1968–1974 (counts): day not established
The road to war · From the books
The army counts thousands of Israeli violations since 1968.
Picard and de Clerck & Malsagne both draw on Lebanese army figures for Israeli violations of Lebanese territory. Picard gives over 30,000 from June 1968 to June 1974; de Clerck & Malsagne count 3,000 in 1968-74 (1.4 a day, with close to 800 Lebanese and Palestinian casualties) and 7 a day in 1974-75. Palestinian raids into Israel from Lebanon numbered 29 in 1968, 150 in 1969, 345 in 1971 and 442 in 1972.
Sources differ: 3,000 (de Clerck & Malsagne) against 30,000 (Picard), both attributed to the Lebanese army. De Clerck & Malsagne's rate of 1.4 a day matches about 3,000 over six years; Picard's may include the patrols and observation posts he lists.
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February 1975
Thursday, 20 February 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Pierre Gemayel calls for a referendum on the armed Palestinian presence.
Kataeb leader Pierre Gemayel called for a referendum on whether Palestinian commandos should stay in Lebanon. He had already pressed the PLO to rein in its breakaway factions, and spoke of 'two governments and two armies'.
Sources differ: Traboulsi and Picard give no day.
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Wednesday, 26 February 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Troops fire on Sidon's protesting fishermen; Maarouf Saad is mortally wounded.
Maarouf Saad, the Nasserist deputy leading a Sidon fishermen's march, was shot when the army fired on it and died days later; several others were killed or wounded. The marchers opposed Protein, holder of a deep-sea fishing concession, with Camille Chamoun on its board. That evening armed men killed a soldier.
Sources differ: Hanf places the demonstration in March; the existing entry 10 gives 7 March. Traboulsi and de Clerck and Malsagne give 26 February.
Art and memory- film Censored in Lebanon, Le Liban dans la tourmente (1975) was Jocelyne Saab's first war documentary. Filming both a wealthy, carefree bourgeoisie and cheerful children in the Palestinian camps, she asked where the hatred came from.
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June 1975
Friday, 6 June 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Musa al-Sadr announces the Amal movement.
Musa al-Sadr made the founding of Amal public. He already had armed men, as a blast at a Fatah training camp near Baalbek showed soon afterwards.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne date Amal's creation to July 1975 (its public revelation by the explosion of 5 July).
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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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Saturday, 28 June 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Musa al-Sadr begins a hunger strike against the fighting.
Protesting at the fighting in Chiyah, Imam Musa al-Sadr went on hunger strike, pledging to fast until the violence stopped. Christian and Sunni clergy and Palestinians backed him. Traboulsi says he fasted at the Amiliya school until a national unity government was formed.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's wording places the strike about a month before 6 June; de Clerck and Malsagne and Hanf place it in late June, which fits the formation of the Karami cabinet at the end of June.
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February 1976
Saturday, 7 February 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
President Frangieh and Prime Minister Karami go to Damascus.
Sleiman Frangieh and Rashid Karami travelled to Damascus, where, with President Assad, they agreed on the text of a 'Constitutional Document' to reform the distribution of power.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's chronology gives 7 February as the day Frangieh declared the Document.
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Saturday, 14 February 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Frangieh announces the 'Constitutional Document'.
Laws would need both the president's and the premier's signatures, parliament would elect the premier, Christians and Muslims would share its seats equally, and the three top posts stayed with the same communities: so ran the Constitutional Document agreed in Damascus, which Frangieh issued as a new National Pact. The Kataeb approved it; Kamal Jumblatt and the National Movement opposed it for confirming the sectarian system.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's chronology dates the declaration to 7 February, the day of the Damascus trip; Hanf, de Clerck and Malsagne and Yara El Khoury give 14 February. De Clerck and Malsagne (p. 296) also write that the Christian camp accepted the Document 'from 21 January', before its publication.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 7 February 1976
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June 1976
Tuesday, 1 June 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Syrian troops intervened in the Akkar region to raise the siege imposed on Kobeyate by officer Maamari from the 'Army of Arab Lebanon.' The Syrian contingent counted approximately 2000 men. 600 other soldiers entered the Bekaa region with over 200 tanks.
What the books addHistorians date the entry of Syrian regular troops to 1 June 1976 (Ménargues gives 9 June). President Assad announced it in the presence of the visiting Soviet Prime Minister Kosygin, citing appeals from the Akkar villages of Qubayat and Andaqit, besieged since January and attacked by the Lebanese Arab Army on 27 May. Columns moved towards Akkar and Tripoli, Zahleh and the Bekaa, and Sidon by way of Jezzine. Estimates of the force range from 6,000 men at the start (with 260 armoured vehicles, according to Ménargues) to 12,000-15,000 within weeks, with 250-300 tanks (de Clerck and Malsagne).
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 9 June 1976
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Monday, 7 June 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Violent combats opposed pro-Syrian formations to Palestinian Progressive militiamen in several districts of Beirut. Syrian troops entered the capital where most Palestinian Progressive forces were concentrated.
What the books addIn Beirut in early June, Hanf writes, Fatah and its allies turned on Saiqa, the PLA and the pro-Syrian parties and cleared them from the city within a few hours. Syria's regular army stayed outside the capital for now: on 7 June its troops got as far as Sofar on the Beirut-Damascus road and into Sidon, where an armoured column was wiped out. Syrian forces reached Beirut only in mid-November, within the Arab Deterrent Force.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 14 November 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian troops reach Sofar and Sidon; a Syrian armoured column is destroyed in Sidon.
Palestinian fighters and Lebanese Arab Army soldiers wrecked the Syrian armour sent into the centre of Sidon and forced it back, once Syrian columns had reached Sofar, on the Beirut-Damascus road, and the city's edge. Long Syrian shelling of the camps followed.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne place the 7 June fighting at Bhamdoun; Hanf at Sofar.
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Wednesday, 9 June 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Arab League decides to send an Arab peace force.
Meeting in Cairo, the Arab League Council appealed for a ceasefire and voted to deploy an Arab peace force. That day an official Tass statement openly condemned Syria's intervention.
Sources differ: Traboulsi and Picard's Liban-Syrie call this force the ADF; Hanf distinguishes it from the Arab Deterrent Force created at Riyadh in October.
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Tuesday, 15 June 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese Front approved the application of the solutions of the sub-summit, concerning the dispatch, to Lebanon, of a peace force including Libyan, Algerian, Syrian, Sudanese, Saudi, and Palestinian contingents.
What the books addPicard (2016) dates to 9 June 1976 the Arab League Council resolution, taken in Cairo, that created an Arab peace force. Hanf has some 2,000 Sudanese arriving first, then Libyans; Picard (2002) says Tripoli sent 500 men in June.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 9 June 1976
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Friday, 18 June 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Gerald Ford ordered the US embassy in Beirut to evacuate urgently all US nationals in Lebanon who would like to return home.
What the books addBarely a tenth of American and British residents accepted the evacuation, Fisk writes. The British went by road, the PLO escorting them through West Beirut and a Libyan officer on to the Syrian lines; a day later a US landing craft took evacuees off from a PLO-guarded bathing club on the Corniche.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 16 June 1976
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Sunday, 27 June 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Phalange Party, the NLP, and the Guardians of the Cedar launched the 'Camps Battle'.
What the books addYara El Khoury dates the start of the final offensive on Jisr al-Basha and Tal al-Za'tar to 22 June 1976, and Hanf's account (Jisr al-Basha stormed eight days after the first assault, on 1 July) points to the same week. The camps had been blockaded since January. Hanf says Chamoun's Tigers and Christian units of the army led the attack, the Kataeb joining later; a joint command of Bashir Gemayel (Kataeb), Dany Chamoun and Nabil Karam (NLP), Fawzi Mahfouz (Tanzim) and Etienne Saqr (Guardians of the Cedar) coordinated it (de Clerck and Malsagne).
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 22 June 1976
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Tuesday, 29 June 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Jisr al-Basha camp falls.
The small Palestinian camp of Jisr al-Basha, overlooking Tal al-Za'tar in East Beirut, fell to the Christian militias and army units, and was razed.
Sources differ: Hanf gives 1 July; Picard August; Yara El Khoury places its fall with Tal al-Za'tar on 12 August.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 1 July 1976
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June 1976: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Major Saad Haddad founds the Army of Free Lebanon; Israel opens the 'Good Fence'.
Under Major Saad Haddad, a Greek Catholic the army command had tasked with regrouping loyal soldiers, the Christian army units around Marjayoun were co-opted by Israel, which let southern Lebanese cross for medical care, shopping and seasonal jobs. Cut off from Beirut, Haddad took Israeli aid, covertly at first.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne date Haddad's militia to March 1976, Hanf to spring 1976, Traboulsi to June.
Art and memory- book Mahmoud Haydar's The End of the Good Fence (2001) traces the Israeli occupation of the south from the opening of the 'Good Fence' in 1976 to 2001.
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February 1977
February 1977: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian troops pull out of Nabatiyeh after an Israeli warning.
In February 1977 the Syrians pulled back a small Arab force unit posted near Nabatiyeh, about ten kilometres from the Israeli border, after Israel had passed on its objection through American channels. Nabatiyeh then became a Palestinian stronghold.
Sources differ: Hanf dates the Syrian entry to January 1977; Fisk dates the withdrawal to February 1977. Both can be true.
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February 1978
Tuesday, 7 February 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A serious incident occurred in Fayadieh.
Lebanese Soldiers fought with elements of the Arab Strike Force. Shots were exchanged followed by heavy armaments shootings.
What the books addHistorians date the Fayadiyeh incident to 7 February (de Clerck and Malsagne), 8 February (Hanf) or 17 February (Ménargues). It began when Syrian soldiers set up a roadblock in front of the Military Academy; officer cadets, led according to de Clerck and Malsagne by Captain Samir (Sami) al-Achkar, fought back and Syrian artillery shelled the barracks. Syrian losses are given as 13 dead and 36 wounded (de Clerck and Malsagne), over 30 dead (Ménargues) or 220 dead and 30 wounded (Hanf). As fighting spread into East Beirut, about a hundred people died when Syrian guns shelled Badaro, Ain el-Remmaneh and Karm el-Zeitoun. Sarkis and Damascus settled the affair with a joint Lebanese-Syrian military court. De Clerck and Malsagne date the Syria-Christian split to it.
Other dates in the books: Wednesday, 8 February 1978, Friday, 17 February 1978
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Wednesday, 8 February 1978
The Lebanese war · Added from the books range (about 8-14 February)
Fighting spreads from Fayadiyeh to East Beirut.
About a hundred people died when Syrian guns hit Badaro, Ain el-Remmaneh and Karm el-Zeitoun, as the Fayadiyeh clash spread the next day to Beirut's Christian districts. National Liberal Party and Kataeb fighters attacked Syrian positions; Syrian troops in Achrafieh's Rizk Tower shelled the eastern suburbs, and artillery struck the army headquarters at Yarze.
Sources differ: Depends on the date of the Fayadiyeh clash: 7 February (de Clerck and Malsagne), 8 February (Hanf) or 17 February (Ménargues). Duration three days (de Clerck and Malsagne) or about a week (Hanf).
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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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Wednesday, 28 June 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A massacre of a unique atrocity was perpetrated in the North of the Bekaa region.
Forty persons from the Christian town of Kaa and its surroundings were kidnapped from their homes at night. 26 were executed at dawn, and their bodies were left in a mass grave. The Lebanese population and especially the Greek Catholic community, to which the victims belonged, were terrorized and distressed.
What the books addThe Qaa massacre is dated to the night of 27-28 June (de Clerck and Malsagne) or to 29 June (Hanf); Ras Baalbek and Jdeidet al-Fakiha were also raided. De Clerck and Malsagne blame Syrians in civilian clothes, carrying name lists and guided by local Christian members of the SSNP and the Communist Party, and see the killings as revenge for Ehden. Hanf counts 26 dead, de Clerck and Malsagne 32 to 36. The community's Supreme Council asked that a day of national mourning be held.
Other dates in the books: Tuesday, 27 June 1978, Thursday, 29 June 1978
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early June 1978: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Kataeb leader Jud al-Bayeh is killed in the north.
Bashir Gemayel cited the killing of Jud al-Bayeh, bank employee, mayor of Kfardlakos and local Kataeb chief, to justify the Ehden attack; Frangieh's Marada were blamed.
Sources differ: Hanf places the murder a few days after the May reconciliation and calls the victim a bank director in Chekka; Ménargues gives early June.
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February 1979
Monday, 12 February 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Brian Urqhart, the assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, examined with Lebanese officials the modalities of the Army's deployment in the South next to the UNIFL Israel nevertheless rejected the program.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 18 April 1979
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Wednesday, 14 February 1979
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Revolution in Iran: Lebanon's Shi'is find a patron abroad.
Iran became an Islamic Republic after the Shah's overthrow; its new defence minister, Mustapha Chamran, had directed a technical school in south Lebanon founded by Sadr. With Musa al-Sadr's disappearance in Libya, the revolution quickly mobilised the Shi'is of Beirut and the south and gave Amal fresh strength.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne give 14 February 1979 for the birth of the Islamic Republic; Hanf and Traboulsi date the overthrow of the Shah to January 1979. These may be different stages of the revolution.
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June 1979
Saturday, 16 June 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After murderous combats, the Lebanese authorities decided to send the army to Ain el Remmane at the beginning of the week.
What the books addBashir Gemayel's men fought a bloody battle with army units sent, at Pierre Gemayel's and Camille Chamoun's request, to separate the Kataeb and National Liberal militias, at war since 12 May. De Clerck and Malsagne call it the first serious armed clash between the army and a Lebanese militia, dating it once to 14 June and once to 18 June.
Other dates in the books: Saturday, 12 May 1979, Monday, 18 June 1979
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Monday, 18 June 1979
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The army enters Ain al-Rummaneh and clashes with Bashir Gemayel's militiamen.
Unable to stop the fighting between their own militias, Pierre Gemayel and Camille Chamoun turned to President Sarkis, who sent in the army. In Ain al-Rummaneh the troops clashed bloodily with Bashir Gemayel's Kataeb fighters, the first serious confrontation between the army and a Lebanese militia, and relations between the army and the Lebanese Forces worsened thereafter.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne put the Ain al-Rummaneh turning point on 18 June (p. 275) but have the army called in on 14 June in another passage (p. 321). Original entry 272, of 16 June, expected the army to move in early the following week, which fits Monday 18 June.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 12 May 1979
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February 1980
Saturday, 23 February 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Criminal madness was unleashed in Lebanon. An odious assault was reported in the Sursock district. A car bomb killed 8 persons including Maya, Bechir Gemayel's 20 months old daughter, and injured 20 others. This explosion was aimed at the chief commander of the Lebanese Forces.
What the books addMénargues writes that Bashir Gemayel usually took Maya to her grandmother's on Saturdays but, sick after the sea crossing from Jerusalem the day before, had her governess and his bodyguards take her in his car, which was blown up less than a kilometre from his home. He blames the Palestinians there; later he says an inquiry into Aman el-Mandoubine, a network run by a Fatah intelligence officer, led to the arrest of two Christians who planted the bomb. One annex dates the attack 21 February.
Art and memory- memorial Ménargues reports that the Lebanese Forces' secret military plan, shown to the Israelis on 5 March 1982, was called 'M' in memory of Bashir's daughter Maya.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 21 February 1980
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June 1981
Monday, 8 June 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Arab Vigilance Committee, ending its meetings in Beiteddine, took note of all the parties' commitment to respect the cease-fire on the Lebanese territory. On the other hand, the Committee announced that it would meet again on June 23 in Saudi Arabia and on July 4 in Beiteddine.
What the books addThe meeting was called after Begin told the Knesset on 4 June of his promises to Lebanon's Christians. The Arab envoys asked Bashir Gemayel to break with Israel; he demanded guarantees in return (Hanf, Ménargues).
Other date in the books: Thursday, 4 June 1981
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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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June 1982
Thursday, 3 June 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Israeli ambassador in London, Shlomo Argov, is shot and gravely wounded.
Abu Nidal's dissident group, hostile to the PLO leadership, carried out the shooting, which Arafat condemned. Israel used it as the pretext for bombing Beirut the next day and for the invasion. De Clerck and Malsagne cite Ronen Bergman, who attributes the London attack to the Mossad.
Sources differ: Bergman's attribution to the Mossad, reported by de Clerck and Malsagne, is not shared by the other books.
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Friday, 4 June 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Within an hour, the Israeli airplanes inflicted on Beirut the toughest bombing since the Fakahani attack in seven successive rounds. Sixty persons were killed and 270 injured in these air raids against the sectors of the Sports City, Sabra, Chatila, and Bourj Brajneh.
What the books addAbu Nidal's group, an enemy of the PLO leadership, had shot Shlomo Argov, Israel's ambassador in London, on the night of 3 June; Israel answered with the raids. Robert Fisk notes that the bombs hit a PLO arms dump in the old stadium near Fakhani and a Palestinian children's hospital by Sabra; Palestinian sources gave 50 dead, Lebanese officials 210 civilians. The original's 'Fakhani attack' is the Israeli raid of 17 July 1981.
Other dates in the books: Friday, 17 July 1981, Thursday, 3 June 1982
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Sunday, 6 June 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Israelis invaded the South along three axes.
The Security Council adopted immediately a resolution requesting the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Israeli forces up to the internationally recognized borderlines. However, this did not stop Israel from reaching Saida and Tyr.
What the books addThe invasion, called 'Operation Peace for Galilee', began on Sunday 6 June: Israeli commandos crossed the border at 1.30 a.m. to attack Beaufort castle (Ménargues), and up to 25,000 troops moved along the coast, through Tibnin and across the eastern sector (Fisk). The government declared a limited aim of a 40-kilometre zone, but Defence Minister Ariel Sharon and Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan kept advancing (Hanf). One overview in de Clerck and Malsagne and Picard's chronology give 5 June.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 5 June 1982
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Tuesday, 8 June 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Menachem Begin visits Beaufort castle and hands it over to Saad Haddad.
Begin visited Beaufort, the crusader castle taken by Israeli troops after fierce resistance at the start of the invasion, and presented it as a symbol that the Palestinian presence in the south was finished. The cabinet in Jerusalem authorised Sharon to push north and cut the Beirut–Damascus road.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 6 June 1982
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Wednesday, 9 June 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A gigantic air battle took place over the Bekaa. The Israelis were 10 kilometers away from Beirut.
What the books addOn 9 June Israeli aircraft destroyed the Syrian SAM missile batteries in the Bekaa and fought a long air battle with Syrian MiGs. Figures: 22 MiGs downed and 19 batteries destroyed that day (Ménargues); more than 80 planes and all missile batteries lost in five days (Picard). The same evening Israeli paratroopers took Damour, on the coast south of Beirut.
Other dates in the books: Tuesday, 8 June 1982, Thursday, 10 June 1982
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Friday, 11 June 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
207 civilians died and 647 were wounded as a result of the Israeli barbarian operations.
What the books addRobert Fisk cites Red Cross and police counts of 9,583 killed and 16,608 wounded across Lebanon by 14 June; Israel's own civilian casualty figure for 4-21 June was 460. Hanf notes that the Syrian-Israeli ceasefire of 11 June excluded the PLO.
Other dates in the books: Friday, 4 June 1982, Monday, 14 June 1982
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Monday, 14 June 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israeli forces cut the Beirut-Damascus road: the siege of West Beirut begins.
The siege of West Beirut, lasting until 21 August, began at dawn as the Israeli army, in a first, crossed the Beirut-Damascus road, trapping the Palestinian forces in the west with a Syrian brigade. By evening white sheets hung in Hamra and Amal fighters were seen dumping guns.
Sources differ: Hanf and Picard describe a siege of 'three months' or from mid-June without a day.
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Sunday, 20 June 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A Public Salvation Committee was constituted. It included: Bechjr Gemayel, Walid Joumblatt, Nabih Berry, Nasri Maalouf, Chafic Wazzan, and Fouad Boutros. Walid Joumblatt resigned from office a few days later.
What the books addMénargues and Fisk date the decision to form the committee to 14 June; Traboulsi has it convening on 20 June. Philip Habib attended its sessions of 22 and 23 June. Its agenda, Traboulsi notes, dealt with the PLO's withdrawal, not the Israeli occupation; Jumblatt quit the committee and the cabinet rather than 'deal the final blow to the Palestinians', and Berri stopped taking part.
Other dates in the books: Monday, 14 June 1982, Tuesday, 22 June 1982
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Monday, 28 June 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The PLO accepted the idea of leaving Beirut to save the city, with, in return, an Israeli withdrawal from the surroundings of the capital.
What the books addFisk dates the PLO's statement that it would leave Beirut, made public by Saeb Salam, to 30 June; Hanf puts its agreement in principle only at the end of July. On 27 June an Israeli cabinet statement had first floated a negotiated exit: the Lebanese army would take over West Beirut and the disarmed fighters would leave by road for Syria (Ménargues).
Other dates in the books: Sunday, 27 June 1982, Wednesday, 30 June 1982
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February 1983
Monday, 7 February 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israel's Kahan Commission publishes its report on Sabra and Chatila.
Israel's inquiry into the September 1982 massacre blamed the Phalangists above all, finding its own political and military leaders indirectly responsible; Ariel Sharon lost the Defence Ministry.
Sources differ: Fisk quotes the finding as Sharon's 'personal responsibility'; Traboulsi and de Clerck and Malsagne call it indirect responsibility. Fisk also criticises the report for treating the massacre as 'events'.
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Monday, 14 February 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Army deployed 3800 soldiers and officers in the East between Nahr El Mott, Dora and Hazmieh, by virtue of a decree granting it extended powers.
What the books addEarly in 1983 the Eighth Brigade went into all of Beirut, the east included, under a plan to collect light arms in the city and clear heavy weapons and gunmen from Greater Beirut. The Lebanese Forces resisted, then on 1 March 1983 agreed to return East Beirut and the port's fifth basin to the state.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 1 March 1983
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June 1983
Tuesday, 14 June 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
While the bombardments took a dangerous turn in the mountain as they reached residential areas, the Chamber of Deputies approved the ratification of the Mai 17 agreement with 62 votes against 2 and 4 abstentions.
What the books addCounts differ: Hanf has 64 for, 2 against and 4 abstentions among 70 deputies present (40 of 50 Christian and 24 of 41 Muslim members in favour); Traboulsi has 65 for, 2 against and 4 abstentions; Fisk puts the vote on 15 June. Traboulsi says the government formally renounced the agreement on 5 March 1984, Amine Gemayel never having signed it.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 15 June 1983
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February 1984
Thursday, 2 February 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The schools closed their doors in the Eastern sector of the capital due to the blind shelling of Beirut and its suburbs.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 1 February 1984
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Tuesday, 7 February 1984
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Beirut is divided again; Washington announces the Marines' 'redeployment' to the ships.
Beirut was split along the Green Line again on 7 February as the last regular troops in West Beirut, mostly Christians, pulled back east; Hanf notes that the Lebanese had never before divided their capital themselves. Washington said that day the Marines would 'redeploy' to ships offshore.
Sources differ: Hanf treats 7 February as the date of the army's collapse; de Clerck and Malsagne and the original (733) use 6 February.
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Wednesday, 8 February 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The ' New Jersey ', the most powerful battleship in the world from the 6 US fleet, bombed for several hours anti-governmental positions in the mountain.
What the books addDruze militiamen in Tibiyat, east of Beirut, visited by Fisk on 13 February, said the New Jersey's shelling of the Metn and Chouf foothills had killed 24 civilians and wounded 115 (their figures). De Clerck and Malsagne note the ship's frequent misses and its Arabic nickname 'New Jersa' ('new shame').
Art and memory- testimony On 13 February 1984 Fisk heard survivors in the Druze village of Tibiyat describe the New Jersey's shelling; his own archive held a large fragment of one of its shells.
Other date in the books: Monday, 13 February 1984
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Tuesday, 14 February 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Amal and PSP met in Khaldeh, while only Souk El Gharb was still controlled by the Army in the mountain.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne give 14 February 1984 for the PSP's capture of the Chahhar district, part of a week-long uprising in Beirut and the mountain.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 15 February 1984
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Friday, 17 February 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Marines withdrew from Beirut. The Italian contingent of the Multinational Force was soon to follow. The capital was left on its own.
What the books addSources date the Marines' departure differently. Hanf: the US announced the 'redeployment' to the ships on 7 February. De Clerck and Malsagne: the evacuation ran from 7 to 26 February, and their chronology dates the MNF withdrawal 26 February - 31 March. Fisk: a last Marine detachment guarding the embassy left on 31 July 1984. The Italians left on 20 February (Hanf).
Art and memory- book Hanf cites Eric Hammel's The Root: The Marines in Beirut, August 1982 - February 1984 for the Marines' own verdict on their mission: of 200 interviewed, about half said it had achieved 'nothing'.
Other dates in the books: Tuesday, 7 February 1984, Tuesday, 31 July 1984
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Sunday, 26 February 1984
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The evacuation of the US Marines ends.
The withdrawal of the Marines, ordered by the White House and begun on 7 February, was completed. De Clerck and Malsagne's chronology dates the MNF's departure to 26 February-31 March.
Sources differ: The original (739) gives 17 February for the Marines' departure.
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Wednesday, 29 February 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Amine Gemayel visited Damascus. The observers expected a normalization soon after. Indeed, the Syrian President approved the opening of new round Israeli-Lebanese negotiations.
What the books addMénargues gives two different days for this visit: 24 February in his prologue and 26 February in another passage. Hanf and Fisk both give 29 February. Fisk notes a 21-gun salute; Hanf says Gemayel told Assad he was ready to abrogate the 17 May agreement.
Other dates in the books: Friday, 24 February 1984, Sunday, 26 February 1984
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February 1985
Sunday, 17 February 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The army made a triumphal entrance in Saida. The transition was smooth and no incident followed the Israeli departure.
What the books addTraboulsi dates Israel's exit from Sidon to 17 February 1985. Fisk describes Christians and Muslims briefly celebrating together when Lebanese troops arrived.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 9 January 1985
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February 1985: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Hezbollah makes its existence public with an 'Open Letter'.
Hezbollah, formed in secret in 1982, came into the open with an 'Open Letter' setting out its programme, addressed 'to the deprived of Lebanon and the world'. It demanded Israel's final expulsion from Lebanon and the departure of the United States and France.
Sources differ: The Confluences article is by the same authors as Le Liban en guerre, so it is not independent confirmation.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israel applies its 'iron fist' policy in the south (February-June).
When guerrillas struck again after the pull-out from Sidon, Israel hit Shia villages with large raids, mass arrests, curfews and demolitions, until it withdrew to the 'security zone' in June.
Sources differ: Picard calls it 'Operation Iron Hand'; Fisk the 'iron fist'.
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June 1985
Thursday, 6 June 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Israel officially completed its withdrawal from South Lebanon. Nevertheless, several Israeli soldiers continued to occupy the Security Zone. In reality, the last Israeli armored vehicle left Lebanon on June 10 after an accident in which Israel lost 654 deaths and 3890 injured, and four disappeared soldiers.
What the books addIsraeli losses: de Clerck and Malsagne count 670 dead and nearly 3,000 wounded between June 1982 and June 1985 (and 721 dead and 3,890 wounded for the whole war); Traboulsi writes of some 500 dead. Israel kept a 'security zone' policed with Lahad's South Lebanon Army.
Art and memory- place Israel opened a clandestine prison at Khiam in 1985; Soha Bechara, a communist resistance fighter, was held there for ten years.
Other dates in the books: Sunday, 17 February 1985, Saturday, 28 December 1985
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Monday, 17 June 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Damascus agreement put an end to the Camps War that caused, in four weeks, 700 deaths and 2,500 injured.
What the books addThis ceasefire closed only the first round (May-June 1985) of the 'War of the Camps', also known as the 'Ramadan war'; by the time Syria imposed it, Fisk reports, 600 people had died. Sieges and fighting returned in 1986 and went on until 1987-1988; de Clerck and Malsagne count 2,000 to 3,000 victims in all.
Art and memory- book Hala Abou Zaki studies how the Palestinians' war record serves to justify excluding them today; the War of the Camps (1985-1987), waged by Amal with Syrian help, finished what was left of the PLO.
Other dates in the books: Tuesday, 12 March 1985, Sunday, 19 May 1985, Wednesday, 22 May 1985
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