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List of massacres in Lebanon

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The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Lebanon:

Antiquity

Name Date Location Deaths Victims Perpetrators Notes
Siege of Tyre (332 BC) 332 BC Tyre 2,000 Tyrians Ancient Macedonian army 2,000 Tyrians crucified on the beach by Alexander the Great's army

Medieval

Name Date Location Deaths Victims Perpetrators Notes
1283 Mamluk offensive against Mount Lebanon May–August, 1283 Northern Mount Lebanon Thousands Maronites Mamluk Sultanate After decades of Maronite resistance against the Sultanate, Mamluk forces launched a massive siege on the northern strongholds. The campaign culminated in the fall of the mountain fortress of Hadat.This event led to the capture and execution of Patriarch Daniel of Hadshit, the leader of the resistance. It marked the end of Maronite political autonomy in the North for centuries and forced the population to seek refuge in the inaccessible heights of the Qadisha Valley.[1]
1305 Kisrawan campaign July, 1305 Kisrawan Thousands Mamluk Sultanate Following several failed attempts to subdue the mountain, the Mamluk Sultanate launched a massive "scorched earth" expedition with 50,000 soldiers. The goal was to eliminate "heterodox" groups accused of aiding Crusader and Mongol interests.[2]

Ottoman Era

Name Date Location Deaths Victims Perpetrators Notes
1820 Lehfed massacre 1820 Lehfed 50–100 villagers Maronites Shihab dynasty During the uprisings against the heavy taxation of Emir Bashir Shihab II, the Emir’s forces launched a brutal crackdown on the village of Lehfed, which had become a center of peasant resistance. It was a rare instance of "intra-sectarian" massacre, where a Christian ruler used violence against his own Maronite subjects to maintain his tax collection rights for the Ottoman Sultan.[3]
1841 Deir al-Qamar massacre October–November, 1841 Deir al-Qamar 1,000–1,500 Maronites Druze militias This was the first major explosion of sectarian violence in the modern era. After a dispute over hunting rights, Druze fighters besieged the town. Ottoman authorities remained neutral or actively assisted in the disarmament of Christians, who were then attacked. This event signaled the collapse of the "Double Qaimaqamate" (the administrative division of the mountain) and served as the direct psychological precursor to the much larger 1860 Civil War.[4]
1845 sectarian conflict in Mount Lebanon and Beqaa Valley May–June, 1845 Hundreds Maronites Druze militias This was a period of systemic tit-for-tat killings that followed the failed 1841 partition. In the Bekaa, the town of Mallaqa was attacked, and Zahleh was besieged. The Ottoman military often intervened only after Christian villages were already disarmed and vulnerable. This conflict proved that the "Double Qaimaqamate" (the administrative division of Lebanon into two sectarian sectors) was a failure. It directly led to the total social breakdown that caused the 1860 Civil War.[4]
1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus 23 May–11 July, 1860 7,000–25,000 Christians During the 1860 Civil conflict in Mount Lebanon, large massacres of Christians at Deir al-Qamar, Hasbaya, and Rashaya took place. Many Christians fled to Damascus and Beirut, where Muslim militias with the support of rogue Ottoman troops and massacred several thousand Christian civilians.
Execution of Arab nationalists May 6, 1916 23 Arab Nationalists Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire On May 6, 1916, Djemal Pasha publicly executed simultaneously seven Arabs in Damascus and fourteen in Beirut for alleged anti-Turkish activities. The date, May 6, is commemorated annually in both countries as Martyrs' Day, and the site in Beirut has come to be known as Martyrs' Square.

French Lebanon

Name Date Location Deaths Victims Perpetrators Notes
Ain Ebel massacre May 5, 1920 Ain Ebel 50–100 Maronites Shia militia Mahmoud Bazzi's militia, which "proceeded from brigandage to confronting France and its Christian friends in the south," attacked Ain Ebel on May 5, 1920, pillaging and killing more than 50 people. The people of Ain Ebel defended the town from sunrise to sunset until they ran out of ammunition. The town was completely destroyed, and the damage done to the two churches, school and convent, was evidence of sectarian malice.
Rashaya revolt massacre November, 1925 Rashaya Hundreds Christians Druze militia The anti-French revolt's expansion into Lebanon and stories of massacres targeting local Christians sparked worry among the Christians of southern Lebanon.[5] Around 400 Christian homes in Rashaya were either damaged or destroyed in the fighting.
Tripoli student massacre November 13, 1943 Tripoli 14 Student protesters French-Senegalese soldiers The students were struck by French tanks driven by Senegalese soldiers while participating in a peaceful march through the streets. During the demonstration, the students were fervently advocating for an end to the occupation.[6][7][8][9] All the victims were under the age of 15.

Independent Lebanon

Name Date Location Deaths Victims Perpetrators Notes
Hula massacre October 31, 1948 Hula 34–89 Lebanese Israel Defense Forces Hula, located in Lebanon, was captured on October 24 by the Carmeli Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces without any resistance. The women and children were expelled, most of the men aged between 15 and 60 were shot. In total between 35 and 58 men were executed in a house which was later blown up on top of them.[10]
Miziara massacre June 16, 1957 Miziara 30 Douaihy clan Frangieh clan Sleiman Frangieh and his followers killed 30 loyalist to the Douaihy family in a church in Miziara. Victims included nuns, priests, women and children.[11]

Civil War Period

Name Date Location Deaths Victims Perpetrators Notes
Church shooting April 13, 1975 Ain El Remmaneh 4 Lebanese Christians Palestine Liberation Organization PLO Drive-by shooting assassination attempt on Pierre Gemayel outside a church ceremony. Gemayel survived but four men were killed.
Bus massacre April 13, 1975 Ain El Remmaneh 27 Palestinians Kataeb Regulatory Forces On the morning of 13 April 1975, PLO gunmen in a speeding car fired on a church in the Christian East Beirut suburb of Ain el-Rummaneh, killing four people, including two Maronite Phalangists. Hours later, 27 Palestinian civilians traveling in a bus through one of the Ain el Rummaneh neighborhoods of Beirut were attacked and killed by Christian Phalangists. Many more people were killed in subsequent fighting in other areas of the city later that day. Together, these incidents have been identified by several historians as the starting point of the Lebanese Civil War.
Black Thursday May 30, 1975 Beirut 30–50 Lebanese Christians The bodies were abandoned in a Muslim cemetery, with possible intention of provoking a sectarian message, close to the Green Line separating East and West Beirut, all with their genitals mutilated off.[12][13][14]
Beit Mellat massacre September 10, 1975 Beit Mellat 30 Lebanese Christians On September 10, 1975, during the initial phase of the civil war, the village was attacked by joint forces of the LNM and the PLO, in what became known as the "Beit Mellat massacre", resulting in the death of approximately 30 Christian residents and the torching of several houses. This incident became known for being one of the first mass killings in a series of massacres targeting Christian residents during the civil war.[15][16]
Black Saturday December 6, 1975 Beirut 150–200 Kataeb Regulatory Forces Four young Christian Phalangists were assassinated on the Fanar (Matn) road in Beirut. In retaliation, Phalangists murdered hundreds of non-Christians. It is estimated that more than 300 civilians were murdered in what was the first ethnic cleansing of the Lebanese Civil War.
Karantina massacre January 18, 1976 Beirut 600–1,500 Kataeb Regulatory Forces Karantina was an impoverished predominantly Muslim district — housing Lebanese and Palestinian refugees, as well as others — in northeastern Beirut, and was overrun by the Lebanese Christian militias.
Damour massacre January 20, 1976 Damour 150-582[17] Lebanese Christians Following the Jiyeh Massacre several days earlier where the Damour entry point had been strategically penetrated in preparation, PLO and LNM militia forces launched a brutal assault on the town of Damour. The operation, which aimed to "empty the city" of its estimated 35,000 residents, resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe. Militants systematically killed entire families—including women, children, and the elderly—within their homes and in places of refuge, such as the local church. Survivors and historical accounts document widespread atrocities, including gang rapes, looting, arson, and the desecration of cemeteries.[12]
Chekka massacre July 5, 1976 200 Lebanese Christians The attack was launched from Tripoli by Palestinian militants and members of a left-wing group called Jund Allah. The group stormed the Christian pro-SSNP-L settlement of Chekka as well as Hamat. An estimated 200 people were killed in the ensuing 24 hours. Residents tried to flee through a tunnel to Batroun but the attackers blocked the exit. Many were killed as their cars caught fire, and they suffocated to death.[18]
Tel al-Zaatar massacre August 12, 1976 Beirut 1,500–3,000 Palestinians Kataeb Regulatory Forces Christian Phalangists and other right-wing Christian militias besieged Tel Al-Zaatar; after heavy fighting, they massacred Palestinian civilian refugees who resided in the camp.
Aishiyeh massacre October 19–21, 1976 Aishiyeh 70+ Lebanese Christians The Lebanese National Movement (LNM) and Palestinian militias Fatah and As-Sa'iqa captured the Christian village of Aychiye in South Lebanon.[12] The assault resulted in a massacre of the civilian population, with documented fatalities estimated at over 70 individuals, including women and children, and over 100 injured.[19]
Chouf massacres March 16–30, 1977 Chouf District 177–250 Lebanese Christians PLA Between March 16 and March 30, 1977 a series of massacres on Christian civilians took place in the Chouf District; the massacres were mostly committed by Druze gunmen of the People's Liberation Army after the assassination of Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt.[20]
St George's Church attack August 21, 1977 Brih 13 Lebanese Christians PLA Druze leftist gunmen attacked St George's Church during prayers on Sunday with automatic gunfire inside and around the church killing 13 people.[21]
Ehden massacre June 13, 1978 Ehden 40 Marada Movement Kataeb Regulatory Forces It was an inter-Christian attack that occurred between the Maronite clans.[22][23] Following the kidnapping and assassination of Jude al-Bayeh, a Kataeb leader in Zgharta by members of Marada, a Phalangist squad attacked the mansion of Frangieh family in an attempt to capture Ehden, killing nearly 40 people including Tony Frangieh, his spouse and his three-year-old daughter, Jihane.[24][25] After the retaliatory massacre, the power of the Frangiehs is reported to have declined.[26]
Qaa massacre June 28, 1978 Qaa 26 Kataeb Party Marada Brigade Said to be revenge after the death of Marada leader Tony Frangieh in the Ehden massacre.
Safra massacre July 7, 1980 Safra 83 NLP Kataeb Regulatory Forces The Phalangist forces launched a surprise attack on the Tigers Militia, that was the armed wing of the National Liberal Party of former Lebanese President Camille Chamoun, as part of Bashir Gemayel's effort to consolidate all the Christians fighters under his leadership in the Lebanese Forces by eliminating rival militias.
Sabra and Shatila massacre September 16, 1982 West Beirut 1,300–3,500 Lebanese Forces Sabra and Shatila were Palestinian refugee camps housing both Sunni and Christian Palestinian refugees, as well as some poor Lebanese Muslims. The Phalanges attacked the camp in retaliation for the assassination of President Bachir Gemayel.
Kfarmatta massacre September 5, 1983 Kfarmatta 117 Lebanese Druze Lebanese Forces Occurred during the height of the Mountain War. Druze civilian residents were executed following the Lebanese Forces takeover of the town.[12]
Southern Mount Lebanon massacres during the "Mountain War" September–December, 1984 Southern Mount Lebanon 1,500–3,500 Lebanese Christians PLA Druze forces massacred hundreds of Christian civilians, ethnically cleansing the Southern Mount Lebanon region from Christian presence.[12]
1983 Beirut barracks bombing October 23, 1983 Beirut 307 MNF Islamic Jihad Organization Victims were mostly American Marines.
1984 Sohmor massacre September 20, 1984 Sohmor 13 Lebanese Muslims South Lebanon Army Previously, 4 SLA militiamen were killed in an ambush near Sohmor. While the IDF encircled the village, the SLA gathered 300 men, aged 16 to 39 years, in the main square to investigate the recent ambush. Once there, the SLA militiamen began to shoot at the villagers and throw grenades at them, while screaming "this is for what you did to the patrol last night".[27]
Shelling of Palestinian refugee camps during the "War of the Camps" May, 1985 West Beirut 3,781 Palestinians Amal Movement Shatila and Bourj el-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camps were besieged and shelled by the Shia Amal Movement.
Dahr al-Wahsh massacre October 13, 1990 Dahr al-Wahsh 240 Lebanese Syrian Arab Army Also known as the "October 13 massacre", occurred in the Lebanese village of Dahr al-Wahsh during the final phase of the civil war, in October 13, 1990, when the Syrian Arab Army executed as many as 240 Lebanese Army POW's and civilians loyal to General Michel Aoun, during the period of the "War of Liberation".[28]

Post Civil War

Name Date Location Deaths Victims Perpetrators Notes
Mansouri attack April 13, 1996 Mansouri 6 Lebanese Israel Defense Forces
Nabatieh Fawka attack April 16, 1996 Nabatieh Fawka 9 Lebanese Israel Defense Forces
First Qana Massacre April 18, 1996 Qana 106 Lebanese Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces fired artillery shells at a United Nations compound, which had given refuge to 800 Lebanese civilians. 116 injured in addition to 106 deaths.
Second Qana Massacre July 30, 2006 Qana 28 Lebanese Israeli Air Force
Marjayoun Convoy Incident August 11, 2006 Kefraya 7 Lebanese Red Cross Israeli Air Force The IDF bombed a 359 vehicles convoy which was granted right of safe passage from the IDF, mediated through the UNIFIL. A reporter confirmed that the Red cross and Civil defense coming to aid the convoy were also bombed, which resulted in the death of a Red Cross volunteer
2023 Ainata airstrike November 5, 2023 Ainata 4 Lebanese Israeli Air Force Three children and their grandmother were killed by an Israeli air attack in Ainata, south Lebanon.[29][30]
August 2024 Nabatieh attack August 17, 2024 Nabatieh 11+ Syrians Israeli Air Force
2024 Lebanon electronic device attacks September 17–18, 2024 Cities across Lebanon 42 Lebanese Israel Defense Forces
2024 Beirut medical center airstrike October 4, 2024 Beirut 9+ Lebanese Israeli Air Force
2024 Derdghaya Melkite Church airstrike October 9, 2024 Derdghaya 8+[31] Lebanese Israeli Air Force
October 2024 Bachoura airstrike October 10, 2024 Beirut 22+[32] Lebanese Israeli Air Force
October 2024 Aitou airstrike October 14, 2024 Aitou 23 Lebanese Israeli Air Force 8+ injured; victims include 12 women and 2 children
Attack on Nabatieh municipal council October 16, 2024 Nabatieh 16+ Lebanese Israeli Air Force Israel conducted ten airstrikes on the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh, while municipal staff were having a meeting inside and co-ordinating aid for civilians remaining in the town. The airstrike killed at least 16 municipality staff, including the mayor of Nabatieh, Ahmad Kahil, and injured at least 52 others.[33]
2024 Beqaa Valley airstrikes October 28, 2024 Beqaa Valley 60+ Lebanese Israeli Air Force 117+ Injured
2024 Barja attack November 7, 2024 Barja 30+ Lebanese Israeli Air Force The strike targeted a residential building housing displaced people killing over 30 and injuring 14 others.[34]
2024 Akkar airstrike November 11, 2024 Ain Yaaqoub 15+ Israeli Air Force
Basta airstrikes November 23, 2024 Beirut 29+ Lebanese Israeli Air Force
2025 Bint Jbeil drone strike September 21, 2025 Bint Jbeil 5 Lebanese Israeli Air Force
2025 Sidon airstrike November 18, 2025 Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp 13 Palestinians Israeli Air Force
November 2025 Israeli attack in Beirut November 23, 2025 Beirut 5 Lebanese Israeli Air Force 28 others were injured by the attack.[35]
8 April 2026 Israeli attacks on Lebanon 8 April 2026 Beirut and other cities across Lebanon 357 Lebanese Israeli Air Force Also known as "Black Wednesday" in Lebanon.[36][37]

See also

References

  1. "A Brief History of the Maronites." Maronite Foundation. [Online].
  2. Salibi, K. (1988). A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered.
  3. Makdisi, U. (2000). The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon.
  4. Fawaz, L. T. (1994). An Occasion for War: Civil Conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860.
  5. Khoury, p. 181.
  6. "مجزرة طرابلس في 13 تشرين الثاني 1943ساهمت في تسريع إعلان إستقلال لبنان!." 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  7. الأسمر, جودي. "حين استشهد 14 طالبًا في طرابلس تحت دبابات الفرنسيين." almodon. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  8. "مقاربة استقلالية... طرابلس تعيد انتاج وطنيتها بعد 17 تشرين". annahar.com. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  9. "شهداء مجزرة الاستقلال في طرابلس… من ينصفهم ومن يخلّد ذكراهم؟ - تراث طرابلس". 17 September 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  10. Tveit, Odd Karsten (2010) Goodbye Lebanon. Israel's First Defeat. Rimal Publication. Translated by Peter Scott-Hansen. ISBN 978-9963-715-03-9. p.368. Quoting General Dov Yermiya.
  11. "Lebanese warlord Franjieh wields power like Mafia don".
  12. "Lebanon's legacy of political violence" (PDF). ictj.org.
  13. Harris, William (1996), Faces of Lebanon, p. 161.
  14. Salibi, Kamal (2005). Crossroads to Civil War: Lebanon 1958–1976. I.B. Tauris. p. 104. ISBN 978-1845111243.
  15. "Lebanon's Legacy of Political Violence" (PDF). ICTJ.
  16. "Des massacres auraient eu lieu dans le nord du pays". Le Monde.fr. 13 September 1975.
  17. Nisan, 2003
  18. ictj (29 July 2014). "Attack on Chekka and Hamat". Civil Society Knowledge Centre. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  19. "The historiography and the memory of the Lebanese civil war". sciencespo.fr.
  20. ictj (30 July 2014). "Christian massacres in Chouf and in West Beirut". Civil Society Knowledge Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  21. ictj (30 July 2014). "Massacre of St. George Church in Brih". Civil Society Knowledge Centre. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  22. Sune Haugbolle (25 October 2011). "The historiography and the memory of the Lebanese civil war". Mass Violence.
  23. N. Kliot (January 1987). "The Collapse of the Lebanese State". Middle Eastern Studies. 23 (1): 54–74. doi:10.1080/00263208708700688. JSTOR 4283154.
  24. "Six major leaders killed in Lebanon since 1943". The Telegraph. 2 June 1987. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  25. Muhamad Mugraby (July 2008). "The syndrome of one-time exceptions and the drive to establish the proposed Hariri court" (PDF). Mediterranean Politics. 13 (2): 171–194. doi:10.1080/13629390802127513. S2CID 153915546. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2013.
  26. "Suleiman Franjiyah". Wars of Lebanon. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  27. Tveit, Odd Karsten (2010). Goodbye Lebanon: Israel's First Defeat. Translated by Peter Scott-Hansen. Rimal Publication. p. 103. ISBN 978-9963-715-03-9.
  28. Nisan, Mordechai (2003). The Conscience of Lebanon: A Political Biography of Etienne Sakr (Abu-Arz). Routledge. pp. 94–95. ISBN 0-7146-5392-6.
  29. "Family, including three children, killed by Israeli attack in south Lebanon". Al Jazeera. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  30. "A woman and 3 children are killed by an Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon, local officials say". Al-Ahram. Associated Press. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  31. CNA. "Israeli missile destroys Catholic church in Lebanon; at least 8 dead". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  32. Tanno, Chris Lau, Sana Noor Haq, Sophie (10 October 2024). "October 10, 2024 Middle East war news". CNN. Retrieved 8 April 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. "Lebanon: Mayor and 15 others killed in Israeli strike". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  34. The New Arab Staff. "Massacre in Lebanon as over 30 killed by Israeli strike". The New Arab. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  35. Burke, Jason (23 November 2025). "Hezbollah chief of staff killed in Beirut airstrike, Israeli military says". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  36. "Lebanon: Death toll from Israeli 'Black Wednesday' strikes rises to 357". L'Orient Le-Jour. 11 April 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  37. Salhani, Justin (30 April 2026). "Civilians or Hezbollah: Who did Israel hit on Lebanon's 'Black Wednesday'?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 May 2026.