TIMELINE
14 May 1948 – The State of Israel declares independence in the British mandate of Palestine. The result of the declaration of independence and the following war was many Palestinians were forced from their homes and into refugee camps throughout the region.
15 May 1948 – The beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, a coordinated effort by multiple Arab nations to defeat Israel at its inception.
10 March 1949 – The 1948 Arab-Israeli War ends with Israel successfully defending itself from the regional Arab neighbors.
16-27 September 1970 – Jordan removes the PLO from refugee camps in Jordan. The PLO mostly relocates to southern Lebanon.
22 January 1976 – Syria invades Lebanon in an attempt to suppress Leftist militias, which began a Syrian occupation of Lebanon that lasted until 2005 with the Cedar Revolution.
11 March 1978 – A PLO raid from Lebanon into northern Israel leads to an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. The Israelis occupy south the Litani River until a UN peacekeeping force and the Lebanese Army take over control of the area.
6 June 1982 - Israeli forces invade Lebanon as part of Operation "Peace for Galilee" with the purpose of eliminating the threat from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to northern Israel.
25 August 1982 – Multinational Forces (MNF) comprised of personnel from the US, France and Italy arrive in Beirut as peacekeeping forces.
10 September 1982 - The PLO retreats from Beirut under MNF protection and the US removes its troops from Lebanon.
14 September 1982 - Lebanon's President, Bachir Gemayel, was assassinated.
29 September 1982 – US Marines return to Lebanon.
March 24, 1983, the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit, stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, received orders to Beirut, Lebanon in support of peacekeeping operations.
18 April 1983 – US Embassy Beirut hit by a suicide truck bomb, killing 63, including 17 Americans.
23 October 1983: Suicide truck bomb destroys the Marine Barracks in Beirut killing 241 US service members. A simultaneous attack hit a French paratrooper barracks resulting in the death of 58 French service members.