Chronology of Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Chronology of Israeli attacks on Lebanon

· Versailles Conference 1919: Zionist-proposed map submitted includes southern Lebanon. This map is rejected during the conference.

1940s-1950s

· The emergence of the state of Israel 1947-1949: Lebanon took part in armed conflict against Israel to halt its continued capture of Palestinian Arab land. Lebanese forces did not enter territory allocated to the Jewish state by the 1947 UN partition plan, remaining instead in the Upper Galilee (granted to the Arab entity which, by the time Arab states intervened on its behalf, was already mostly conquered by Israel).

· The mass exodus of Palestinians during this period is known as Al Naqba (The Catastrophe). Approximately 100,000 Palestinian refugees fled or were expelled to Lebanon at this time. They now number up to 400,000.

· Operation Hiram, 21-31 October 1948: Four Israeli brigades enter Lebanon, moving up to the Litani River and killing at least 90 people in the village of Hula. Some were forced to remain in buildings that were to be demolished.

· The signing of an armistice agreement between Israel and Lebanon occurs on 23 March 1949 at Ras En Naqura, on condition that Israel pulls out from the 14 Lebanese villages it is occupying.

1960s-1970s

· Although Lebanon does not participate in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel attacks the village of Hula, killing five women.

· November 1967: Following a three-month siege, Israeli forces destroy the Lebanese village of Hanin, killing the inhabitants. There are no surviving witnesses.

· December 1968: The Israeli Air Force strikes Beirut International Airport, destroying 13 Lebanese planes.

· Israeli attacks into southern Lebanon make certain areas uninhabitable, destroying Muslim, Christian and Druze villages. 80% of the villages in southern Lebanon during the 1960s and 1970s are destroyed. Many of the displaced move into the crowded Beirut suburbs.

· 1975-1977: Israel gives over $150 million worth of arms to Christian forces
[i] fighting in the Lebanese civil war.

Operation Litani

· 14 March 1978: Israel carries out Operation Litani, which lasts seven days. The total number of casualties is unknown.

· 10,000 Israeli troops and 200 tanks invade southern Lebanon, killing hundreds of civilians.

· 250,000 Lebanese are displaced, many moving to the southern suburbs of Beirut, which become known as the "misery belt" (including the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila).

· The Lebanese Army barracks at Khiam are taken over by Israeli forces and given to their allies, the South Lebanon Army.

· 15 March 1978: Israeli forces attack homes and factories in the Awazi area near Beirut, killing 36 civilians.

· 15 March 1978: An Israeli warplane attacks a mosque in the southern village of Abbasiya, killing 40 people and wounding over 100.

· 17 March 1978: Israeli commandos at the shore of Adlun kill 20 members of the Tawil family.

· An Israeli economic blockade results in an influx of Israeli goods and the end of production in southern Lebanon, further crippling the country's economy.

· US President Jimmy Carter is critical of Israel, saying: "I consider this major invasion to be an overreaction…" and "a serious threat to the peace in the region
[ii]."

· 19 March 1978: The US ambassador to the UN proposes that a UN force replace Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. Security Council resolution 425 states that Israel should cease all military actions and "withdraw forthwith its forces from all Lebanese territory."

· The UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are established to provide more initiative for the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

· Israel establishes a 10-kilometre occupation zone approximately three months after the start of Operation Litani.

· Israeli military advisers and arms flow into east Beirut, supporting the Christian Phalangist Lebanese Forces who are engaged in military clashes with the Syrian army.

· 21 October 1979: Israeli forces attack the Khamis market of the southern village of Bint Jubayl, killing 23 people.

1980s-1990s

· 28 May 1980: Israel began an unprovoked bombing campaign of southern Lebanon, hitting PLO bases.

· 19 July 1981: Israel bombed areas of Beirut, killing 100 people, 30 of them militants. Over 600 people were injured. PLO retaliation led to further Israeli attacks, forcing once more the flight of people from southern Lebanon.

Operation Peace for Galilee

· On 31 June 1981, under Menachem Begin's government, Ariel Sharon joins the Israeli cabinet as defence minister. His main aim is the full-scale invasion of Lebanon: "Quiet on the West Bank requires the destruction of the PLO in Lebanon."
[iii] Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir says: 'The defence of the West Bank starts in West Beirut."
[iv]

· 11 April 1982: The proposal for the full-scale invasion of Lebanon is put to the Knesset (parliament). Five ministers oppose this operation. Begin decides to delay the invasion.

· Israeli raids and attacks against Lebanon continue.

· Lebanese President Elias Sarkis appeals for intervention from the US and USSR
[v].

· Israel says the PLO has 150,000 guerrillas in southern Lebanon. UN sources say this is an exaggeration. Similarly, diplomats in Beirut discount Israel's claim of a massive PLO arms build-up
[vi].

· Israeli forces continue to strengthen and widen its occupation in southern Lebanon, building secondary roads, gun emplacements, command bunkers and radar stations, and conducting military exercises, including training in urban warfare at Khiam.

· 21 April 1982: An Israeli artillery officer is killed in southern Lebanon.

· Israel conducts air raids into Lebanon.

· 9 May 1982: The PLO counter-attacks with artillery as a warning to Israel, not hitting any villages or civilians.

· 10 May 1982: A meeting of the Israeli cabinet indicates that a majority is for the full-scale invasion of Lebanon. Seven ministers oppose the invasion.

· 17 May 1982: The date set for the invasion. A day before the operation is due to start, Begin calls it off due to pressure from the seven ministers against the invasion.

· Israeli air attacks continue, sending at least 60 aircraft, including US-made F15s and F16s to bomb three targets in southern Lebanon. Two of the targets belong to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. The other is the Lebanese Arab Army base near the town of Mazub, 17 miles from Beirut. Bombing also occurs in the region of Khalde
[vii].

· 3 June 1982: Members of the Palestinian Abu Nidal group shoot and injure the Israeli ambassador to London. Although the group is considered a sworn enemy of the PLO, this event becomes the raison d'etre for the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

· 4 June 1982: At 3.15 pm, the Israeli Air Force carries out strikes in Lebanon. Nine sites are hit in central Beirut, including Sports City and the Family Beach. Another seven sites are hit in southern Beirut. Over 50 sites in southern Lebanon are hit.

· The PLO retaliates by hitting northern Israel.

· 5 June 1982: The Israeli cabinet authorises the invasion, codenamed 'Peace for Galilee'
[viii].

· Israeli forces sweep through Lebanon, while UN Security Council resolutions 508 and 509 call for the unconditional withdrawal of Israeli troops.

· 9 June 1982: The Israeli Air Force attacks Syrian SAM batteries in the Bekaa Valley.

· Ground engagement between the Israeli and Syrian armies occurs in Jezzin and Ein Zhalata. This ends two days later on 11 June with Israel in control of Jezzin and progressing towards the Shouf, Baabda and the outskirts of Beirut.

· 13 June 1982: Israeli forces besiege West Beirut with heavy bombardment.

· 14 September 1982: Following the assassination of Bashir Gemayel by the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party, Sharon orders Israeli forces into West Beirut and allows the Christian Phalangist Lebanese Forces (allies of Israel) to enter the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila.

· 16 September 1982: Massacres occur at Sabra and Shatila for 48 hours, with night flares by Israeli forces guiding the Phalangists, resulting in the deaths of up to 2,000 Palestinian and Lebanese refugees.

· 17 May 1983: An agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government aims to end the war. It stipulates that Israeli and Lebanese territory will not be used as a base for hostile activity against the other party, and prohibits the deployment in their territories and airspaces of any forces hostile to the other partner. Israel is required to withdraw completely from Lebanon, but Israel incorporates a pledge from the US stipulating that the withdrawal will be conditional to the withdrawal of Syria and the PLO. This in effect makes the agreement de facto.

· February 1983: Israel's Kahan Commission report finds Sharon partly responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacres. He is forced to resign.

· 16 October 1983: An Israeli military convoy drives through the Ashura process in Nabatieyeh. This is a holy day for Shia Muslims and commemorates the martyrdom of Husyan ibn Ali at the battle of Karbala (circ AD 600). Barriers are put up by worshippers to impede the convoy. The desecration by the convoy escalates to violence as Israeli reinforcements are called in. Two Lebanese civilians are killed and 15 injured.

· 1984: Israeli forces attack the village of Suhmur, killing 13 people and wounding 12.

· 23 February 1985: Israeli forces attack the village of Sir-al Gharbiyah, killing civilians who had taken shelter in a church.

· 4 March 1985: Israeli forces attack the village of Marakah. At least 15 people are killed and 45 wounded.

· 11 March 1985: At least 109 Israeli military vehicles storm the town of Zra'iyah, killing 22 civilians.

· 12 March 1985: Israeli forces attack villages in the Tuffah region, killing more than 30 people.

· 1985: Israel turns the Khiam barracks into a detention centre.

· 1982-1985: At least half the male population of southern Lebanon is detained at the Ansar prison camp.

· Approximately 10,000 people are killed by Israeli forces and their Lebanese Forces allies during this operation.

Operation Accountability or the Seven-Day War (25 July 1993)

· 120 Lebanese civilians are killed and 500 injured.

· 300,000 people are displaced from south Lebanon.

· 1,000 houses are completely destroyed, 1,500 are partially destroyed, and 15,000 sustain light damage.

· Mosques, churches, cemeteries and schools are destroyed.

· Israeli forces cut electrical and water supplies to villages.

· A wholesale vegetable market in Sidon is targeted.

· The Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El Hilweh is also targeted

· Up to five ambulances are hit.

· Eyewitness accounts and evidence indicate the use of phosphorus bombs

Post-Operation Accountability

· 5 August 1994: The Israeli Air Force destroys a two-storey building in the village of Dayr al Zahrani in southern Lebanon, killing eight people and wounding 17.

· May 1995: Amnesty International publishes a report on the detention centre in Khiam, indicating the inhumane conditions of the prisoners.

Operation Grapes of Wrath (11 – 27 April 1996)

· Israel carries out 600 air raids during this time, and 25,000 shells are fired at Lebanese territory.

· At total of 154 Lebanese civilians are killed and 351 injured.

· The main coastal road linking south Lebanon to Beirut is heavily targeted, making travel dangerous and difficult.

· 11 April 1996: Israeli attacks begin as Israeli aircraft hover over Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and south Lebanon.

· 12 April 1996: Israel shells Sumhur village in the western Bekaa, killing eight civilians.

· 13 April 1996: A helicopter gunship attack on an ambulance in the village of Masouri kills two women and four children.

· 13 April 1996: Israel gives residents of Tyre and 40 villages four hours to evacuate, but during this time Israeli forces bomb surrounding roads.

· 13 April 1996: Israel blockades coastal cities, Beirut, Tyre and Sidon

· 14 April 1996: UN Lt Col Rana Doj Limbu reports heavy shelling of the village of Majdal Zoun.

· 14 April 1996: The Jumhour Electrical Plant just outside Beirut is bombed.

· 15 April 1996: The Bsaleem Electrical Plant in east Beirut is attacked.

· 15 April 1996: Journalists trying to inspect war damage come under fire from Israeli artillery.

· 15 April 1996: A hospital in Upper Nabatiyeh is hit by Israeli shells. Patients and workers are among the casualties.

· 16 April 1996: An Israeli attack on an ambulance going from Nabatiyeh to Aabba injures four children and a civil volunteer.

· 16 April 1996: The road to Majdal Zoun is bombed.

· 17 April 1996: Polish engineers and Nepalese soldiers attempt to clear debris from the road to Majdal Zoun. Israeli forces drop bombs 150 metres in front of them, and 10 minutes later, the UN base comes under direct attack without warning.

· 18 April 1996: A home in Nabatiyeh is destroyed by the Israeli Air Force, killing nine civilians including a mother, her six children and a new-born baby.

· 18 April 1996: Israel launches a missile attack at the UN headquarters in the village of Qana. Civilians from Qana and surrounding villages are sheltering inside the hangars, which are hit. 107 people are killed, including 33 children.

· 24 April 1996: A UN Armoured Personnel Carrier is attacked by Israeli Forces at Wadi Gilo.

· 25 April 1996: The UN estimates that 400,000 people (one-eighth of Lebanon's population) has been displaced.

Post-Operation Grapes of Wrath

· 5 December 1997: Israeli explosives kill three civilians at Majdal Silm.

· 5 January 1998: Israeli forces kill another civilian in Majdal Silm.

· 8 January 1998: Israeli shelling kills a civilian in Al Qulaylah.

· 26 March 1998: Israeli fire in Brashit wounds two civilians.

· 2 April 1998: Israeli fire in Arab Salim and El Louaize kill one civilian.

· 31 May 1998: Israeli forces fire rockets into Arab Salim.

· 5 August 1998: Israeli forces kill two civilians and wound seven in Libbaya.

· 7 August 1998: Israeli forces kill civilians in Kfar Melki.

· October 1998: Amnesty International sends a letter to the Israeli government about the welfare of Sulieman Hassan Ramadan, detained by Israel and the South Lebanese Army since 1985 and thought to be in Khiam Detention Centre.

· July 1998 - January 1999: A UN Interim Report for this period shows a 70% increase in Israeli missiles, artillery and mortars fired in southern Lebanon.

· 3 November 1998: Israeli air raid on Shaqra.

· 12 November 1998: Israeli air raid on Zibqin.

· 17 November 1998: Israeli air raid on Brashit.

· 18 November 1998: Israeli air raid on Yatar.

· 27 November 1998: Israeli air raid on Rishknaniyah.

· 3 December 1998: Israeli air raid on Talet Huqban.

· 7 December 1998: Israeli fire kills one civilian in At Tiri.

· 13 January 1998: Israeli air raid on Zibqin.

· July 1998 - January 1999: 58 Israeli air raids occur north of the Litani River.

Operation Accountability

· 20 June 1999: Israeli air raids kill civilians in Yatar and Qabrikha.

· 24 June 1999: The Israeli Air Force attacks targets in Baalbek, power stations in Sidon and Beirut, five bridges along the coastal road between Sidon and Beirut, and a telephone relay station near the capital. Ten civilians are killed and 50 wounded.

· 1 September 1999: Israeli forces kill and wound civilians in Libbaya.

· 16 December 1999: Israeli mortars are fired into a schoolyard in Arab Salim, injuring 15 children. Israel issues an apology.

2000 - 2006

A report on the situation between Israel's 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon and the war of 2006 is available at:

http://www.arabmediawatch.com/amw/CountryBackgrounds/Lebanon/MediaMyths/HezbollahthreateningIsraelpostwithdrawal/tabid/326/Default.aspx

2006 war

A fact sheet is available at:

http://www.arabmediawatch.com/amw/CountryBackgrounds/Lebanon/WarFactsheet/tabid/341/Default.aspx

References and Links

Books

Bregman, Ahron (2002) Israel’s Wars: A History Since 1947.Routledge: London

Bulloch, John (1983) Final Conflict; The War in the Lebanon. Century Publishing: London.

Fisk, Robert (1990) Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War. Oxford University Press.Oxford

Rabil,G.Robert (2003) Embattled Neighbours; Syria, Israel and Lebanon. Lunne Reinner Publishers London

Saad-Ghorayeb, Amal (2002) Hizbu’llah; Politics and Religion. Pluto Press: London.

Segev, Tom (2000) One Palestine Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate. Translated by Haim Watzman. Owl Books; New York

Human Rights Watch Report 1999: Israel/Lebanon: ‘Operation Grapes of Wrath; The Civilian Victims.’ Vol. 9, No 8.

Time Magazine:

Time Magazine: April 19, 1982

Time Magazine: April 26, 1982

Time Magazine: May 3, 1982

Time Magazine: June 14, 1982

Time Magazine: June 21, 1982

Time Magazine: August 16, 1982

Links

Amnesty Letter, 9 October 1998: Medical Letter Writing: Sulieman Hassan Ramadan: Israel/South Lebanon:

Amnesty Report, 28 February 2000: Israel/South Lebanon: Further information on fear of torture and ill-treatment / Legal concern:

UN Report of the Secretary General on the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (16 January - 15 July 1998)

UN Report of the Secretary General on the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (17 July 1997 - 15 January 1998)

UN Report of the Secretary General on the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (16 July 1998 - 15 January 1999)

UN Report of the Secretary General on the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (16 January - 15 July 1999)

UN Report of the Secretary General on the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (16 July 1999 - 15 January 2000)

[i] Bregmn, 2002

[ii] Rabil, 2003; 58

[iii] Bregman, 2002; 154

[iv] Bregman, 2002; 154

[v] Times April 19th 1982.

[vi] Times April 19th 1982

[vii] Times May 3^rd, 1982

[viii] Bregman, 2002; 160

Back to our section on the Jewish war against Lebanon