June 1982, Israel invaded South Lebanon in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War, purportedly in retaliation for the attempted assassination of the Israeli Ambassador to England, by Palestinian assassins. Though the would be assassins were sworn enemies of the Arafat-led Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon had been seeking a pretext to eliminate the PLO from Lebanon, as anti-Israel sentiment ran strong within the PLO.
7th June, 1982
We just landed here on Beirut last night. It was dark and quiet, so quiet that we couldn't even imagine that we are in a war.
The first companies landed here a few days ago. Lucky them, they got to see all the action. Our commanding officers seem not so worried either. We have been relaxing on this beach since last night. But I can feel it, I can feel that it is "calm before the storm".
