Siege of Beirut

Overview

During the 1982 Lebanon War, the city of Beirut was besieged by Israel following the breakdown of the ceasefire that had been imposed by the United Nations amidst the Lebanese Civil War. Beginning in mid-June, the two-month-long siege resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and the expulsion of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Beirut and the rest of Lebanon.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Siege of Beirut was a central episode of the 1982 Lebanon War, following the collapse of a UN-imposed ceasefire during the Lebanese Civil War. Lasting approximately two months from mid-June, the siege resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and ended with the expulsion of the PLO from Beirut and from Lebanon entirely. That outcome represented a decisive strategic shift: the PLO, which had used Lebanon as its primary operational base, lost its foothold in the country, forcing the organization to relocate its leadership and forces. The siege thus accomplished Israel's core objective of dislodging the PLO from Lebanese territory, though at significant human cost and with lasting consequences for the broader Lebanese Civil War context.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (22)