battle, Cold War

Battle of the Hotels

Name: Battle of the Hotels
Start: 1976-04-02
Location: Beirut, Lebanon

Battle of the Hotels was a battle fought on 2 April 1976 at Beirut, in what is now Lebanon. It was part of the Lebanese Civil War, which ran from 1975 to 1990. Recorded strength: LNM: ~2000; PLO: ~1000; LAA: ~500 against LF: ~1,500.

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Fought2 April 1976

WhereBeirut, Lebanon33.900N, 35.500E

OutcomeLebanese National Movement victory; Division of Beirut along East-West; Expulsion of Muslim/Leftist militias and civilians from East Beirut; Expulsion of Christian/Rightist militias and civilians from West Beirut; Holiday Inn comes under control of the LNM

BelligerentsLebanese National Movement; 22px|border Progressive Socialist Party; Popular Liberation Forces; 22px|border Lebanese Communist Party; Popular Guard; SSNP-L; 20px Eagles of the Whirlwind; 22px|border Al-Mourabitoun; 22px|border Communist Action Organization in Lebanon; 22px|border Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party of Lebanon; 22px|border Socialist Arab Lebanon Vanguard Party; Nasserite Correctionist Movement; Amal Movement; 22px|border Lebanese Resistance Regiments; PLO; Fatah Movement; PFLP; DFLP; Palestinian Liberation Front; 20px As-Sa'iqa; 22px|border Lebanese Arab Armyagainst22px|border Lebanese Front; Kataeb Party; 15px Kataeb Regulatory Forces; 23px|border National Liberal Party; 22px|border Tigers Militia; 22px|border Marada Brigade; Al-Tanzim; Guardians of the Cedars; 22px|border Lebanese Youth Movement; Tyous Team of Commandos; 22px|border Army of Free Lebanon; Lebanese Armed Forces

Casualties and losses500 dead and 750 woundedand250 dead and 500 wounded

Part ofLebanese Civil War1975 to 1990

Where it sits in the Lebanese Civil War

5 placed engagements of the Lebanese Civil War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date	2 April 1976 to March 1976
Place	Beirut, Lebanon 33.900N, 35.500E
Kind	Battle, Cold War
Strength	LNM: ~2000; PLO: ~1000; LAA: ~500	LF: ~1,500
Casualties and losses	500 dead and 750 wounded	250 dead and 500 wounded
Commanders	Kamal Jumblatt George Hawi Ibrahim Kulaylat Mohsen Ibrahim Assem Qanso Abd al-Majid al-Rafei	Pierre Gemayel Bachir Gemayel William Hawi Camille Chamoun Dany Chamoun Tony Frangieh

The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Siege of Beirut 1982, 1.1 km S
Battle of Beirut 1912, 1.9 km SE
1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon 1973, 2.8 km E
Siege of Sidon 1110, 39 km S
Battle of Sidon 1941, 39 km S

Contested ground: this site was fought over 4 times between 1912 and 1982.

In the same war

After: Battle of Kaukaba 1978
All 5 engagements of Lebanese Civil War

Elsewhere in 1976

First Battle of Amgala Western Sahara
Second Battle of Amgala Western Sahara
Battle of Ain Ben Tili Mauritania
Siege of Nakfa Ethiopia
Battle of Hill 31 Zimbabwe

Battle of the Hotels is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 56 in present-day Lebanon.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4872937, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Hotels, revision 1374117825, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.