FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2025
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Washington, D.C. | www.adc.org | September 16, 2025 — Today marks the 43rd anniversary of one of the darkest moments in the modern history of the Middle East: the Sabra and Shatila massacre. From September 16–18, 1982, between 2,000 and 3,500 civilians—Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians—were slaughtered in Beirut in one of the most harrowing atrocities of Israel’s invasion and occupation of Lebanon.
Shatila, a Palestinian refugee camp, and the adjacent Sabra neighborhood, lie southwest of Beirut’s city center. Many of Shatila’s residents were descendants of refugees expelled during the 1948 Nakba, when Zionist militias ethnically cleansed Palestine to establish Israel. Decades later, the survivors of the Nakba were once again subjected to disastrous catastrophe.
Over three days, right-wing Lebanese Phalangist militias, acting in coordination with and under the protection of Israeli forces, encircled and stormed Sabra and Shatila. Israeli troops controlled the area, sealed the exits, and trapped thousands inside. They watched the massacre unfold from their rooftop positions through binoculars and launched flares to light up the killing fields, all while maintaining consistent communication with the militias carrying out the slaughter. Entire families were wiped out, mass graves were dug with Israeli-supplied bulldozers, and a refugee community that had already endured displacement and dispossession was once again brutalized.
The international community recognized the crime. The UN Security Council condemned the “criminal massacre of Palestinian civilians,” and the UN General Assembly declared it an act of genocide. Even Israel’s own Kahan Commission could not deny its orchestration, naming then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon “personally responsible” for the carnage. Sharon and other Israeli officials never faced justice. Instead, Sharon later rose to become Prime Minister—a stark reminder of the shameful impunity that continues to shield Israeli leaders from accountability as they massacre Palestinians and attempt to destroy Palestine’s national and cultural identity.
The massacre at Sabra and Shatila stands in direct line with the horrors we witness today. It reminds us that the Palestinian struggle is a continuous one, and that Israel’s atrocities, both historical and current, are part of its decades-long campaign to dispossess and annihilate the Palestinian people.
The memory of Sabra and Shatila calls us to act. On this anniversary, ADC honors the memory of the victims of Sabra and Shatila and demands justice for all Palestinians and peoples of the region who continue to face Israel’s violence and aggression. We must commit to nothing short of a permanent and immediate arms embargo against Israel; international prosecution of Israeli leaders and military officials responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity; and an end to Israel’s occupation and the complete restoration of Palestinian rights, including the right of return.