US Marines sail from Naples to Beirut; IDF continues to pull out troops from Beirut, but continues house-to-house searches for militia and arms; IDF troops seen loading...
Israeli warships, armored units bombard Palestinian camps and civilian neighborhoods in Beirut hours before Begin meets Reagan in Washington, hit USSR embassy, fashionable...
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Military Action:
US Marines sail from Naples to Beirut; IDF continues to pull out troops from Beirut, but continues house-to-house searches for militia and arms; IDF troops seen loading trailer trucks with captured vehicles, weapons, PLO files, materials from Arab banks; Algerian government charges IDF soldier stormed Algerian embassy in Beirut, stole documents; IDF denies it flew Haddad forces to Beirut for operations in camps; IDF lifts curfew imposed in South Lebanon following Gemayel assassination.
Casualties:
Burj al-Barajneh residents say Lebanese Army demanded they disarm as condition for Army protection, and then Army disappeared; rumors of massacre sweep camp so residents leave camp at night to sleep elsewhere; Haaretz reports Phalange was given IDF aerial photographs of Sabra and Shatila, that forces involved were commanded by top Phalange liaison officer with IDF in Beirut.
Political Responses:
Israel/ Occupied Territories: Israeli government accepts redeployment of multinational force in Beirut, but refuses to specify deadline for IDF withdrawal or to establish inquiry into massacre; Palestinians in Israel, West Bank, and Gaza stage strikes at schools and businesses, stone bus and several police stations, burn tires on highways to protest massacre; 2 Israeli policemen wounded, 8 Palestinians arrested; strikes 95 percent effective, but broken in Ramallah, Hebron, and Nablus when Israeli soldiers force open store windows; disturbances in Bethlehem and Israeli-Palestinian towns of Taibeh, Kaukab, Sakhnin, where residents carried pictures of Arafat; demands for national inquiry into massacre grow; Begin still staunchly opposed; Begin sends congratulations to Amin Gemayel as president-elect of Lebanon, still hopes for peace treaty.
Palestinians/ Lebanese: Arafat says Begin and Sharon are not Jews because such a massacre is outside Jewish morality and tradition; Arafat meets Saudi King Fahd in Jiddah, says Reagan personally responsible for massacre because Habib had given the PLO a signed guarantee for security of Beirut and its people; Amin Gemayel, elected Lebanon's President by 77 of 80 votes, calls for national unity; several Phalange militia commanders refuse to accept Amin's authority.
Arab Governments: King Hussein charges US with "direct moral responsibility" for massacre, supports Reagan's peace initiative but rejects Camp David structure for negotiations and peace talks with Begin government; Arab League emergency meeting accuses US of moral responsibility for massacre but stops short of endorsing PLO-sponsored call for sanctions against US.
US and Other Countries: Reagan Administration officials get wary approval for dispatch of Marines from House Foreign Affairs Committee, which sees Israel bearing some responsibility for massacre; Congressman Crockett blames Israeli government and US for "aiding, abetting" massacre; Congressional opposition to increasing aid to Israel grows as Begin refuses to open inquiry; Habib meets Mitterrand on way back to Lebanon.
UN: PLO persuades non-aligned group to call for one-day special emergency General Assembly session to request a UN inquiry; Jeane Kirkpatrick says she will oppose any such inquiry unless Lebanese Government supports it.
Military Action:
Israeli warships, armored units bombard Palestinian camps and civilian neighborhoods in Beirut hours before Begin meets Reagan in Washington, hit USSR embassy, fashionable shopping area, hospital, near Commodore Hotel; Israeli and Syrian troops trade fire along highway, Israelis claim to de-stroy 4 Syrian tanks; artillery duels continue all day; WAFA says IDF attempting to push down hillsides toward 3 Palestinian camps, provoking response; massive IDF buildup continues as 70 Israeli tanks move toward Khalde; Israeli patrol ambushed outside Beirut.
Casualties:
Two Palestinian hospitals hit, killing 8, wounding 22; scores of casualties from Sabra and Burj al-Barajneh camps; mass graves in Sidon; 50,000 flee Beirut southward to escape expected fighting; high civilian casualties in Bekaa (possibly 1,200 dead) and Baalbek schools house 25,000 refugees; telephone lines in Bekaa cut by Israelis and many civilians attacked along highway by Israeli jets; at Aley, hotels are burned out, hospital hit by 4 Israeli bombs; many suffering from effects of cluster bombs; refugees begin returning to Ain el-Hilweh.
Israel says voluntary agencies can resume work in Lebanon; Israel withholding aid from civilian Palestinians; Eitan says prison camp to be set up in Lebanon for PLO members; ICRC asks to visit after being allowed to see 18 Syrian prisoners; Israel says Lebanese economy will take 6 months to one year to recover, says refinery, which supplies 40 percent of Lebanese oil needs, will be operational in 60 days.
Political Responses:
Israel/ Occupied Territories: Sharon reportedly lobbying Israeli Cabinet for permission to storm Beirut; one of several MKs, visiting IDF in Beirut, says attack on PLO headquarters in Beirut "almost inevitable"; Begin tells US audiences the war in Lebanon is almost over, as Sharon says the IDF has not achieved all its objectives; 13 Israeli Cabinet ministers tour parts of Lebanon (Beaufort Castle; near Lake Karoun; Tyre; Sidon; outskirts of Beirut airport); El Al reports 15 percent slump in bookings as a result of the invasion; Begin encounters sharp criticism from US Congress, claims Israeli approach endorsed by Reagan.
Palestinians/ Lebanese: Habib meets with Sarkis, Wazzan with Arafat; Arafat attacks US role in backing Israeli "slaughter"; PLO seeks to retain political presence in Lebanon; Salam calls on Reagan to keep IDF from attacking, and to give time for Arafat to persuade PLO militants to disarm; Lebanon says 1 1 Arab countries agree to attend summit on Lebanon; Danny Chamoun, son of Camille Chamoun, in New York says invasion "overdue," meets with administration figures.
Arab Governments: Syrian Cabinet meets on crisis; Arab and non-aligned countries consider convening emergency session of UN General Assembly, reach no decision.
US and Other Countries: Weinberger makes veiled criticism of Haig policies; State Department says UN resolution 509, demanding immediate Israeli withdrawal, no longer relevant; National Security Council reportedly disagrees with Haig's conciliatory attitude toward IDF invasion; Reagan reportedly supports Israeli demands for Syrian troop withdrawal and creation of demilitarized zone, does not take position on US troop involvement in peacekeeping force.
