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The 1982 Lebanon War also known as Operation Peace for Galilee broke out in June 1982, when Israeli forces invaded Lebanon to stop the PLO from shelling and attacking its border villages. After fighting with the PLO and Syrian forces, Israel occupied southern Lebanon, up to and including parts of the city of Beirut, and drove the PLO out of the country and the Syrians from the Bekaa Valley.
After a PLO attack killed a bus full of civilians in northern Israel and the constant shelling of its border villages, and the Israeli retaliation raids and artillery strikes also causing casualties, Israel launched Operation Litani in March 1978, occupying most of the area south of the Litani River. In response, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 425 calling for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and creating the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), charged with maintaining peace in civil war torn Lebanon. Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, turning over positions inside Lebanon along the border to a Lebanese ally, the South Lebanon Army (SLA) under the leadership of Maj. Saad Haddad, thus informally setting up a 12-mile wide "security zone" to protect Israeli territory from crossborder attack.
In 1981 heavily armed forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) occupied large areas of southern Lebanon. PLO militants fought with Lebanese forces, and killed many thousands of Lebanese citizens. Due to continued civil war since 1975, Lebanon had no effective central government at the time.
On 6 June 1982, following an assassination attempt against its ambassador in London by the Abu Nidal Organization, Israeli forces under direction of Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invaded southern Lebanon in their "Operation Peace for the Galilee." They eventually reached as far north as the capital Beirut in an attempt to drive the PLO forces out of the country, and secure peace for its northern towns and villages.
Israel's objective was to push back the PLO militants to a distance of 40 kilometers to the north by marching in to Lebanon once again. The Israeli forces soon reached that target but were determined to kill the PLO once and for all. Tyre and Sidon (major cities in the south of Lebanon, still within the 40 kilometer limit) were left in ruins, and the Lebanese capital Beirut was shelled for ten weeks, killing both PLO members and civilians.
Israel shot down many Syrian aircraft over Lebanon, and terrestrial objects were also bombed. AH-1 Cobra Cobra helicopter gunships were used widely by the Israeli Air Force to destroy Syrian armor and fortification. The IAF Cobras destroyed dozens of Syrian armored fighting vehicles, including many of the modern Soviet T-72 main battle tank.
Later in 1982 a ceasefire was reached and American, French and Italian forces sent the PLO survivors to surrounding Arab states.
The Lebanese Christian Militia, allies of Israel, massacred about 1000 Palestinians in refugee camps while Israel was in control of Beirut.
In August 1982, the PLO withdrew most of its forces from Lebanon under intense international pressure. With U.S. assistance, Israel and Lebanon reached an accord in May 1983 that set the stage to withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanon. The instruments of ratification were never exchanged, however, and in March 1984, under pressure from Syria, Lebanon canceled the agreement. In June 1985, Israel withdrew most of its troops from Lebanon, leaving a small residual Israeli force and an Israeli-supported militia in southern Lebanon in a "security zone," which Israel considered a necessary buffer against attacks on its northern territory.
Heavy Israeli casualities and a lack of clear goals led to increasing disquiet among Israelis at the war as well. Israel finally withdrew from the "security zone" in 2000, during the Prime Ministership of Ehud Barak. Israel continues to control a small area called "Sheeba Farms", which Lebanon and Syria claim to be Lebanese territory but Israel insists to be former Syrian territory with the same status as the Golan Heights, since they have captured it from the Syrians. The United Nations has determined that Shebaa Farms is not part of Lebanon.
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