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|---|---|
 Ruins of the mosque | |
| Location | Maarakeh, Southern Lebanon |
| Coordinates | 33°16′N 35°18′E / 33.267°N 35.300°E / 33.267; 35.300 |
| Date | 4 March 1985 |
| Attack type | Bombing |
| Deaths | 15 |
| Injured | 55 |
The Maarakeh bombing took place on 4 March 1985, a bomb exploded in a Shiite religious center (Hussainiya) in the southern Lebanese village of Maarakeh. 15 people were killed, including two leaders of the Amal movement that was fighting Israel, and 55 were injured.
Background
Israeli withdrawal plan
See also: South Lebanon conflict (1985-2000) § Israeli withdrawal to Security ZoneAfter it invaded Lebanon in 1982, Israel established a three-stage withdrawal plan. In February 1985, it implemented the first stage and relocated its forces south to the Litani river. On 3 March, one day before the attack, the cabinet approved the second stage.
2 March raid
On 2 March, 800 Israeli soliders raided Maarakeh. They searched the village's "Hussainiya" while keeping the residents outside, and arrested 17 men.
Attack
30 hours after Israeli troops had left, a thirty-pound bomb planted on the second floor of the Hussainiya exploded, during a meeting held to discuss the distribution of the relief and food supplies.
15 people were killed and 55 were injured. Among the dead were militants from the Amal Movement. Mohammed Saad, a guerrilla leader, died in the UN hospital at Naqura. Militant leader Khalil Jaradi died in the mosque.
Within an hour of the explosion, Israeli troops raided the main hospital in Tyre, searching for residents of Maarakeh and arrested eight people.
Aftermath
Lebanese radio stations asserted that the explosion was from a car that was booby-trapped, however earlier reports from the village said the bomb was planted on the second floor. IDF officials also initially said that the explosion was caused by a car bomb, however UNIFL spokesman Timur Goksel, said this was impossible as the blast took place on the 2nd floor.
The spiritual head of Lebanese Shiites, sheikh Mohammad Mehdi Shamseddine called for a holy war, a "relentless jihad", against Israelis. Amal leader Nabih Berri called Saad and Jradi "martyrs" and denounced the massacre, saying: " pretend they don't want anything from Lebanon more that their peace. This is the Israeli peace." President Amine Gemayel summoned envoys of the United States, the Soviet Union, China, France and the United Kingdom to seek their support as members of the UN Security Council for a complaint against Israel. Prime Minister Rashid Karami said that Israel has "lost its nerve and panicked", and Hezbollah criticized the US and Israel.
Israel denied any invovled involvement, Coordinator of Israeli Affairs in Lebanon Uri Lubrani stated that "'I don't have the shadow of a doubt that what is involved here is an internal conflict inside Amal manifested in methods that are completely foreign to us."
References
- ^ Boustany, Nora (1985-03-05). "Blast Kills 12 In S. Lebanon". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- "Border attack on Israeli troops shows rising Shiite ire". Christian Science Monitor. 1985-03-11. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ Hijazi, Ihsan A.; Times, Special To the New York (1985-03-05). "BLAST IN LEBANON KILLS 15 IN MOSQUE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ Wright, Robin (2001-12-04). Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-3342-2.
- Petran, Tabitha (1987). The struggle over Lebanon. Internet Archive. New York : Monthly Review Press. ISBN 978-0-85345-651-3.
- Facebook; Twitter; options, Show more sharing; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; Email; URLCopied!, Copy Link; Print (1985-03-05). "South Lebanon Blast Kills 2 Shia Leaders, 10 Others". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
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