42 years ago today, Lebanese Christian Phalangist militiamen entered the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in West Beirut, killing an estimated 3,500 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians over 36-48 hours.
The Israeli Defense Forces surrounded the camps, controlled exits, and provided illumination flares throughout the nights of Sept 16-18, 1982. IDF-supplied bulldozers were used to bury bodies in mass graves.
Survivors reported systematic house-to-house killings with knives, axes, and firearms. Women, children, and elderly were among the dead. Reports included rape and mutilation.
By noon on Sept 18, international journalists entered the camps and documented the carnage. Under global pressure, Israel ordered the Phalangists to withdraw that afternoon.
Ariel Sharon, then Israeli Defense Minister, oversaw the IDF's Lebanon invasion and the encirclement of the camps. An Israeli commission later found him bearing "personal responsibility" for failing to prevent the massacre, leading to his resignation. The Phalangist commander was Elie Hobeika.
The Israeli Defense Forces surrounded the camps, controlled exits, and provided illumination flares throughout the nights of Sept 16-18, 1982. IDF-supplied bulldozers were used to bury bodies in mass graves.
Survivors reported systematic house-to-house killings with knives, axes, and firearms. Women, children, and elderly were among the dead. Reports included rape and mutilation.
By noon on Sept 18, international journalists entered the camps and documented the carnage. Under global pressure, Israel ordered the Phalangists to withdraw that afternoon.
Ariel Sharon, then Israeli Defense Minister, oversaw the IDF's Lebanon invasion and the encirclement of the camps. An Israeli commission later found him bearing "personal responsibility" for failing to prevent the massacre, leading to his resignation. The Phalangist commander was Elie Hobeika.