Sabra and Shatila Massacre
During Israel's occupation of West Beirut, a Lebanese Phalangist militia massacres Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila camps over three days.
In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon and besieged West Beirut, forcing the PLO to evacuate under international guarantees for the safety of the civilians left behind. On 14 September, Lebanese president-elect Bashir Gemayel was assassinated. The next day, Israeli forces moved into West Beirut.
From 16 to 18 September 1982, fighters of the Phalangist militia entered the Sabra neighborhood and the Shatila refugee camp — whose perimeter was controlled by the Israeli army, which lit the area with flares through the night — and killed unarmed Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, including women, children, and the elderly. Estimates of the dead range from several hundred to several thousand; no full accounting was ever made.
Israel’s own Kahan Commission of inquiry found in 1983 that Defense Minister Ariel Sharon bore “personal responsibility” for ignoring the danger of a massacre, and recommended his removal. Sharon resigned as defense minister but later became prime minister. The UN General Assembly condemned the massacre as an act of genocide.
Cited works
1- palquest.org — lebanon war 1982(opens in a new tab)https://www.palquest.org/en/highlight/168/lebanon-war-1982
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- Shatila Campمخيّم شاتيلا
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: During Israel's occupation of West Beirut, a Lebanese Phalangist militia massacres Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila camps over three days.
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“Sabra and Shatila Massacre.” Timeline, FALASTEEN.AI. Accessed 22 August 2026. https://falasteen.ai/timeline/sabra-and-shatila.- MLA
“Sabra and Shatila Massacre.” Timeline, FALASTEEN.AI, 2026, https://falasteen.ai/timeline/sabra-and-shatila. Accessed 22 August 2026.- BibTeX
@misc{falasteen-sabra-and-shatila, title = {Sabra and Shatila Massacre}, howpublished = {\url{https://falasteen.ai/timeline/sabra-and-shatila}}, organization = {FALASTEEN.AI — A Living Archive for Palestine}, year = {2026}, note = {Accessed 2026-08-22} }