| Lebanese war chronology - 1978 | > back to chronology | |||||
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January 6, 1978 friday |
The Begin Plan concerning the settlement of Palestinians in Lebanon made some noise. The Lebanese reacted with firmness and indignation to the conspiracy initiated by foreign countries. According to Salim El Hoss, 'Every project expecting the settlement of Palestinians outside of their land is rejected.' The President of the Republic also rejected any project stipulating the permanent settlement of Palestinians in Lebanon. 'Our country should determine itself what it is able to offer. It is unfair to solve the Palestinian question by creating a Lebanese problem. We will make every effort to let our right prevail', he said. |
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January 10, 1978 tuesday |
Within 3 weeks, four explosive charges were placed next to Saeb Salam's home. |
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January 20, 1978 friday |
A new armament and US equipment shipment sent to the Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces arrived at the Port of Beirut. It included a hundred armored vehicles and cistern trucks. |
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January 22, 1978 sunday |
The Lebanese Front adopted a coexistence formula. Leaders of the Lebanese Front, gathered at President Frangieh's home in Zghorta since the day before, inaugurated their seminar which main themes were the national understanding, the project of Palestinians settlement in Lebanon, and the internal organization of the Front itself. Their final press release made it clear that the Palestinian presence constituted an obstacle to the national understanding and that Lebanon rejected any kind of union. |
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January 24, 1978 tuesday |
The Lebanese Front was alarmed : armaments were unloaded in Tyr. |
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January 25, 1978 wednesday |
The Parliament extended its mandate until the first of June 1980. |
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January 26, 1978 thursday |
Feyrouz played Queen of ' Petra ', the play that the Rahbani brothers wrote and presented at the Picadilly Theatre. Assi Rahbani was the Director, Abdel-Hamid Caracalla was in charge of the scenography, Papou Lahoud did the costumes, and Ghazi Kahwaji the decoration. |
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January 29, 1978 sunday |
A bomb attack damaged seriously the Tunisian embassy in Beirut, without, however, causing any victim. |
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February 1, 1978 wednesday |
An explosion injured 18 persons in Bourj. It was caused by a grenade hidden in a parked car. |
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February 2, 1978 thursday |
Michel Sardou caused the walls at the Casino du Liban to vibrate. |
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February 7, 1978 tuesday |
A serious incident occurred in Fayadieh. Lebanese Soldiers fought with elements of the Arab Strike Force. Shots were exchanged followed by heavy armaments shootings. |
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February 25, 1978 satruday |
It is the first night, at the Casino du Liban theater, of the ' Akhwat Loubnan ' show written and interpreted by Nabih Aboulhosn. |
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February 27, 1978 monday |
Diverse shows were scheduled in Lebanon. 'We Belnesba la bokra chou?' by Ziad Rahbani was a triumph at the Orly Theater. |
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March 8, 1978 wednesday |
The US government agreed on granting Lebanon an agricultural loan of the amount of 8,800,000 dollars. |
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March 14, 1978 tuesday |
Israel invaded the South, after an operation executed by the Fedayin on March 11 at Tel Aviv. 25,000 men backed by the aviation, armored vehicles and artillery invaded, within 2 hours, a tenth of Lebanon and forced Palestinians to withdraw to the North of the Litani. A first estimate reported 700 deaths and 160,000 displaced persons. Refugees rushed to Beirut causing a serious social problem. Air raids bombarded Damour, Ouzaï, and Tyr. |
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March 15, 1978 wednesday |
According to a report issued by the Ministry of Finance, the losses in the public sector were estimated at 7.5 billion Lebanese Pounds. |
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March 19, 1978 sunday |
The Security council adopted the 425 Resolution which stipulated the expedition of 4,000 blue helmets to confirm the withdrawal of the Israeli forces. They had also to assist the Lebanese government in the restoration of its authority in the region. |
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March 22, 1978 wednesday |
The first ' Blue Helmets ' arrived to the South. |
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March 23, 1978 thursday |
General Gour, from the Israeli army, affirmed that Israeli withdrawal from the South of Lebanon would start within a few days. |
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March 27, 1978 monday |
' The 'National parliamentary gathering', a Shiite block, was created under the presidency of Kamel El Assaad. |
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March 29, 1978 wednesday |
The Arab Strike Force's mandate was extended for another 6 months. |
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March 30, 1978 thursday |
A little bit of cheerfulness in the midst of despair ! The Boney M gave a flamboyant show to a heartbroken Lebanese audience. |
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April 11, 1978 tuesday |
Violent fights were reported on the axis Chyah-Ain el Remmaneh. The Arab Strike Force intervened, bombing violently Ain el Remmaneh and establishing a 500-meter wide buffer zone. |
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April 19, 1978 wednesday |
The Hoss government, formed in December of 1976, resigned. El Hoss himself was soon asked, on April 28, to form the new government. |
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April 23, 1978 sunday |
At the Villa Mansour, the committee of the ' Thirteen ', that included leaders from all parliamentary blocks, adopted a blueprint claiming the end of the Palestinian armed action on the entire Lebanese territory. The Parliament unanimously approved the resolution on the 27th of April. |
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April 28, 1978 friday |
A building collapsed on refugees from South Beirut causing tens of victims. |
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May 2, 1978 tuesday |
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. |
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May 6, 1978 satruday |
Several civil victims were reported during a violent bombardment of Ain el Remmanneh. As usual, there were contradictory versions of the incident. |
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May 7, 1978 sunday |
The 'Mikhael Naimy' week was inaugurated under the patronage of the President of the Republic. This event was a Lebanese tribute to the great thinker and writer who stirs up Lebanon's tradition and vocation in the field of thinking. |
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May 12, 1978 friday |
Seiman Frangieh and Rachid Karameh reconciled under the auspices of the Syrian commander of the Arab Strike Force in Northern Lebanon. |
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May 24, 1978 wednesday |
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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May 31, 1978 wednesday |
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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June 4, 1978 sunday |
A 19 years old Lebanese pianist, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, won the longest and toughest international contest: the Queen Elisabeth Music Prize. |
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June 5, 1978 monday |
Ghassan Tueini proposed, at the UN General Assembly, an 'international neutrality to protect Lebanon, because this country has no longer any other future besides explosion or invasion'. A UN force would take in charge the protection of the territory, while the army would devote its efforts to internal security and reconstruction. |
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June 6, 1978 tuesday |
The Lebanese Front stiffened its position. It considered that the Palestinian Resistance did not have its place in Lebanon anymore. The Front proclaimed that all the agreements with the PLO were null and void. The Front hoped that the Lebanese army replaces the primarily Syrian Arab Strike Force. President Sarkis was determined to dispatch the army to the South. |
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June 13, 1978 tuesday |
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. |
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June 17, 1978 satruday |
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. |
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June 28, 1978 wednesday |
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. |
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July 1, 1978 satruday |
It is a blaze of fire ! Ain El Remmaneh was savagely bombed. 22 persons died and tens were injured. Syrian forces arrested Commander Bechir Gemayel then set him free. |
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July 2, 1978 sunday |
Achrafieh was bombed. 130 shells hit the H™tel-Dieu hospital where 20 rooms were destroyed. At the same time, a huge fire ravaged the dock number 6 in the port. |
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July 23, 1978 sunday |
Hadeth was savagely bombed. |
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July 26, 1978 wednesday |
The Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin declared : 'Christians in Lebanon are threatened of being annihilated'. |
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July 28, 1978 friday |
US nationals were evacuated and this was worrying for the Lebanese population. |
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July 29, 1978 satruday |
The bombing intensified in the Eastern suburbs of Beirut. |
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July 31, 1978 monday |
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. |
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August 10, 1978 thursday |
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. |
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August 13, 1978 sunday |
A bomb destroyed an eight floor building where the offices of the Palestine Liberation Front were located. The explosion killed 150 persons. |
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August 22, 1978 tuesday |
Raymond Eddeh called the UN Security Council to hold a meeting. The leader of the National Bloc declared 'My country is like a man that is sinking in a marsh and is being shot. |
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August 24, 1978 thursday |
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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August 28, 1978 monday |
A Syrian-Israeli war in Lebanon seemed likely to happen, but the US intervened to moderate the two countries. |
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September 10, 1978 sunday |
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. |
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September 19, 1978 tuesday |
In Lebanon strikes multiplied. In East Beirut, a strike was organized to protest against the presence of the 'Green Helmets', while in West Beirut protests were against the mysterious disappearance of Imama Moussa Sadr. Christian leaders did not want to renew the Arab Strike Force's mandate unless it was done under new conditions. |
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September 23, 1978 satruday |
After President Sarkis delivered a speech underlining the necessity to maintain the Arab Strike Force and guarantee the forthcoming withdrawal of Syrian forces, about 200 shells hit Achrafieh. The population panicked. |
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September 26, 1978 tuesday |
President Alfred Naccache was dead from pneumonia. He was 91 years old. He was President of the Republic between 1941 and 1943, under the French mandate. After the independence, he was given several ministerial functions, before he retired from politics. He was born in Beirut in 1887 and studied law at Saint Joseph University. He became advisor for the supreme court of appeal, and then headed the appeal court. In 1941, he became President of the Republic until March 18, 1943. He was titular of several honorific distinctions such as the great cordon of the cedar order. |
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September 28, 1978 thursday |
It is the famous ' Black Thursday ' where hundreds of shells hit Achrafieh in a murderous frenzy that did not spare anyone. The Arab Strike Force and the Lebanese Front accused each other of being responsible of this nightmare, while women, children and elderly persons were dying. |
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October 1, 1978 sunday |
Artillery duels extended. Achrafieh was turned into hell; more than 100 persons died and 300 were injured in this district of Beirut as a result of bombardments. |
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October 3, 1978 tuesday |
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. |
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October 4, 1978 wednesday |
The bombardments reached Bikfaya and Beit-Mery while in East Beirut there was a shortage of food and medications. The Security Council called for the urgent ending of the combats. |
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October 8, 1978 sunday |
Residents of Achrafieh stepped out of their shelters only to realize the magnitude of the damages. Despite the respect of the cease-fire agreed upon by Presidents Elias Sarkis and Hafez Assad, the region was still under blockade. |
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November 1, 1978 wednesday |
At Kornet Chehwane, a detachment of the army's intervention squad encircled the residence of Captain Sami Achkar accused of creating a dissident organization within the army. The officer was killed in the assault. The next day, Fouad Boutros, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, was attacked in Achrafieh and his bodyguards were kidnapped. |
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November 4, 1978 satruday |
While the situation improved on the ground, Damascus liberated Ahmed Khatib, previously chief of the Army of Arab Lebanon. |
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November 7, 1978 tuesday |
The residence of General Victor Khoury in Amchit was dynamited. |
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November 16, 1978 thursday |
According to a study done by the national federation of syndicates, the cost of living had increased by 90% in four years. |
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November 21, 1978 tuesday |
President Sarkis called for an understanding. |
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November 29, 1978 wednesday |
The President concluded his visit to Paris with disappointment. France took a moderate position while thousands of Lebanese who fled to Paris exhorted the French government to react. However, politics has its own reasons. |
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December 5, 1978 tuesday |
The Arab tripartite committee including Saudi and Kuwaiti ambassadors and a Syrian general, met in Baabda in presence of the chief of State. The committee excluded any immediate resort to the army. |
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December 8, 1978 friday |
A serious incident was reported in Jounieh. A Phalangist leader, Elie Hobeika, was arrested at an army checkpoint in Nahr el Kalb. The incident degenerated into fights and the entire region flared up. A helicopter transporting Saudi and Kuwaiti ambassadors and flying over the region was hit by submachine-gun shots. The Saudi ambassador was injured. |
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December 11, 1978 monday |
Dany Chamoun, a military leader of the NLP, was attacked on his way to the AUH, but escaped unharmed. |
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December 20, 1978 wednesday |
Following a governmental reshuffling, General Victor Khoury became Minister of Defense, replacing Fouad Boutros. |
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