# Canonical recap data for Lebanese Civil War Begins (1975)
# Source: https://recap.at/1975/lebanese-civil-war
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: lebanese-civil-war
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1975/lebanese-civil-war"
title: Lebanese Civil War Begins
aliases:
- Lebanese Civil War
- The War
- Harb al-Ahliyya al-Lubnaniyya
subtitle: Lebanese Civil War Begins
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1975-04-13
datePrecision: day
year: 1975
decade: 1970
country:
name: Lebanon
slug: lebanon
summaryShort: The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
summaryLong: The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
lede: In April 1975, Lebanon descended into civil war as rival militias-primarily Christian and Muslim factions-began armed conflict that would ravage the country for 15 years. The war killed an estimated 150,000 people, displaced nearly a million, and turned Beirut from a thriving regional hub into a symbol of state collapse. It reshaped the entire Middle East's political landscape and demonstrated how quickly sectarian tensions could destroy a functioning state.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/USS_New_Jersey_firing_in_Beirut%2C_1984.jpg/1280px-USS_New_Jersey_firing_in_Beirut%2C_1984.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Lebanese Civil War"
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Duration
  value: 15 years (1975–1990)
- label: Estimated deaths
  value: 150,000
- label: Displaced persons
  value: Nearly 1 million
- label: Start date
  value: April 13, 1975
- label: End date
  value: October 13, 1990
- label: Primary belligerents
  value: Christian militias, Muslim militias, Palestinian factions, Syrian forces, Israeli forces
- label: Capital affected
  value: Beirut (divided into Christian east and Muslim west by 1976)
timeline:
- date: 1975-04-13
  title: Civil war erupts
  description: Fighting breaks out in Beirut between Christian Phalange militias and Muslim factions, triggered by tensions over Palestinian refugee presence and political power-sharing disputes.
- date: 1976-01-01
  title: Beirut divided
  description: The capital splits into Christian-controlled east and Muslim-controlled west, with the Green Line becoming the de facto border. Syrian forces enter Lebanon to stabilize the conflict.
- date: 1978-03-14
  title: Israeli invasion
  description: Israel invades southern Lebanon in response to a Palestinian attack, establishing a security zone that it will maintain for 22 years.
- date: 1982-06-06
  title: Operation Peace for Galilee
  description: Israel launches a major invasion with the stated goal of removing Palestinian fighters; Lebanese casualties mount significantly and the war intensifies.
- date: 1983-05-17
  title: Lebanese-Israeli accord
  description: Lebanon and Israel sign a ceasefire agreement, though it fails to hold and Israeli forces remain in occupation.
- date: 1987-02-06
  title: West Beirut explodes
  description: Heavy fighting erupts in western Beirut between rival Shia militias (Hezbollah and Amal), causing widespread destruction and civilian casualties.
- date: 1989-09-22
  title: Ta'if Agreement
  description: Saudi-sponsored accord is reached in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia, establishing a framework for ending the war and reforming Lebanon's political system.
- date: 1990-10-13
  title: War officially ends
  description: The Lebanese Civil War formally concludes after 15 years. Syrian forces complete occupation of Lebanon as militias are gradually disarmed, though stability remains fragile.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_Civil_War"
  title: Lebanese Civil War
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Lebanese Civil War exposed the fragility of multicommunal states without strong institutional safeguards. Its 15-year duration and sectarian character established a template for regional instability that persisted through the 1980s and beyond, while the war's conclusion in 1990 demonstrated that exhaustion, not victory, often ends protracted conflicts.
categories:
- war
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- civil_war
- invasion
- occupation
- insurgency
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- collapse
- transformation
impactRadius: regional
velocity: cascading
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: coordinated
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: "Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990): sectarian conflict that killed 150,000, displaced nearly one million."
wikidataQid: Q208484
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Beirut population
  thenValue: ~1.5 million
  thenYear: 1975
  nowValue: ~2.4 million (greater Beirut area)
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Nominal growth masked by significant displacement and emigration during the war
- metric: Lebanon's GDP per capita
  thenValue: $2,100 USD
  thenYear: 1975
  nowValue: $1,400 USD (nominal, crisis-affected)
  nowYear: 2023
  note: Declined due to war destruction and subsequent economic mismanagement; currency collapsed post-2019
- metric: Estimated Lebanese diaspora
  thenValue: ~400,000
  thenYear: 1975
  nowValue: ~4-5 million
  nowYear: 2024
  note: More people of Lebanese descent now live abroad than in Lebanon itself
- metric: Hezbollah's political presence
  thenValue: Nonexistent
  thenYear: 1975
  nowValue: 12 parliamentary seats, major government influence
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Founded 1985; evolved from militant group into Lebanon's largest Shia political organization
- metric: Israeli military presence in Lebanon
  thenValue: None
  thenYear: 1975
  nowValue: None (withdrew from security zone in 2000, but border remains tense)
  nowYear: 2024
  note: 1982 invasion led to 18-year occupation; 2006 war demonstrated tensions persist
consequences:
- title: Syrian military intervention and occupation
  year: 1976
  description: Syria deployed 30,000 troops in June 1976, ostensibly as peacekeepers but effectively to prevent Palestinian-leftist groups from winning decisively. Syria maintained military and intelligence control over Lebanese territory until 2005, making Lebanon a de facto Syrian client state for nearly 30 years.
- title: Israeli invasion and occupation begins
  year: 1982
  description: Israel invaded Lebanon in June 1982 to destroy PLO military capacity, eventually occupying the southern third of the country. The invasion killed an estimated 20,000 people and displaced 600,000. Israel remained in a "security zone" until May 2000, but the invasion accelerated Hezbollah's formation and radicalization.
- title: Hezbollah founded with Iranian backing
  year: 1985
  description: Born from the Shia community's experience of marginalization and Israeli occupation, Hezbollah emerged as an Iranian-backed militia and social services network. It would eventually become Lebanon's most powerful military force and a major political party, fundamentally reshaping the country's power structure.
- title: Ta'if Agreement ends official hostilities
  year: 1990
  description: Brokered by Saudi Arabia and the UN, the Ta'if Agreement formally ended the 15-year war and rebalanced the confessional system slightly in favor of Muslims. However, it did nothing to resolve underlying sectarian tensions, disarm militias, or establish accountability. Most warring factions were simply reintegrated into government.
- title: Lebanon's currency collapses; financial crisis engulfs nation
  year: 2019
  description: Decades of post-war corruption, mismanagement, and currency pegging to the dollar finally imploded in 2019-2020. The Lebanese pound lost 90% of its value, poverty rates skyrocketed, and the banking system froze. The economic catastrophe reignited protests and underscored how the war's institutional failures were never addressed.
- title: Beirut port explosion kills 218, injures 7,000
  year: 2020
  description: On August 4, 2020, inadequately stored ammonium nitrate at Beirut's port detonated in a massive explosion that killed 218 people and wounded over 7,000. The disaster symbolized Lebanon's institutional decay and the enduring legacy of conflict—the port had been effectively controlled by Hezbollah, and investigations revealed systemic negligence and political paralysis.
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: Khamseen
  artist: Marcel Khalife
  year: 1978
  note: Lebanese oud master and songwriter who documented the war's emotional reality through traditional Arabic music infused with modernist sensibility.
topFilms: []
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: The Lebanese Civil War shattered the country's identity as a cosmopolitan Levantine crossroads and replaced it with a traumatized, sectarianized nation. Beirut fell from being the "Paris of the Middle East" to a symbol of urban collapse and regional proxy warfare. The war accelerated the Middle East's ideological turn toward Islamic movements—Hezbollah's rise from the Shia underclass mirrored broader patterns across the region. For the diaspora, which swelled to millions, Lebanon became a mythic homeland of loss and nostalgia rather than a place of return. The war also normalized state failure and political corruption in ways that still plague Lebanon—the post-war system proved no more functional than the one it replaced, leaving an entire society still waiting for actual reconstruction.
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/USS_New_Jersey_firing_in_Beirut%2C_1984.jpg/1280px-USS_New_Jersey_firing_in_Beirut%2C_1984.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/USS_New_Jersey_firing_in_Beirut%2C_1984.jpg/800px-USS_New_Jersey_firing_in_Beirut%2C_1984.jpg"
  caption: Lebanese Civil War
  credit: Wikipedia · "Lebanese Civil War"
  width: 330
  height: 222
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260528110425/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_Civil_War"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-28
  label: Lebanese Civil War
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_Civil_War"
