Editing Beirut (section)

===Modern era===

====Capital of Lebanon====
[[File:Beirut Debbas Square 1967.jpg|thumb|Debbas Square in Beirut, 1967]]
After [[World War I]] and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Beirut, along with the rest of Lebanon, was placed under the [[French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French Mandate]]. Lebanon achieved independence in 1943, and Beirut became the capital city. The city remained a regional intellectual capital, becoming a major tourist destination and a banking haven,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://taxjustice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/lebanon-emerging-black-hole-of-middle.html |title=Tax Justice Network: Lebanon: a re-emerging Middle Eastern secrecy jurisdiction |access-date=25 August 2016 |archive-date=12 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012115143/http://taxjustice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/lebanon-emerging-black-hole-of-middle.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Crisis of Representation: Experimental Documentary in Postwar Lebanon |date=2011 |publisher=BiblioBazaar |isbn=978-1-243-52201-6 |page=70}}</ref> especially for the [[Persian Gulf]] oil boom.

[[Beirut International Airport]] was opened on 23 April 1954.

This era of relative prosperity ended in 1975 when the [[Lebanese Civil War]] broke out throughout the country,<ref>[An Alternate Alternative History] {{dead link|date=March 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Foreign Policy</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://travel.independent.co.uk/middle_east/article84731.ece |title=Dancing in the street |work=The Independent |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124231823/http://travel.independent.co.uk/middle_east/article84731.ece |archive-date=24 January 2007}}</ref> During most of the war, Beirut was divided between the Muslim west part and the Christian east.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} The downtown area, previously the home of much of the city's commercial and cultural activity, became a [[no man's land]] known as the [[Green Line (Lebanon)|Green Line]]. Many inhabitants fled to other countries. About 60,000 people died in the first two years of the war (1975–1976), and much of the city was devastated. A particularly destructive period was the 1978 Syrian siege of [[Achrafieh|Achrafiyeh]], the main Christian district of Beirut. Syrian troops relentlessly shelled the eastern quarter of the city,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://histoiredesforceslibanaises.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/the-100-days-war-the-battle-of-ashrafieh/ |title=The 100 Days War, the Battle of Ashrafieh |last=josephhokayem |date=11 July 2012 |access-date=25 August 2016 |archive-date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830062941/https://histoiredesforceslibanaises.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/the-100-days-war-the-battle-of-ashrafieh/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but Christian militias defeated multiple attempts by Syria's elite forces to capture the strategic area in a three-month campaign later known as the [[Hundred Days' War]].
[[Image:Green Line, Beirut 1982.jpg|thumb|[[Green Line (Lebanon)|Green Line]], Beirut, 1982]]
Another destructive chapter was the [[1982 Lebanon War]], during which most of [[West Beirut]] was under siege by Israeli troops. In 1983, French and US [[1983 Beirut barracks bombing|barracks were bombed]], killing 241 American servicemen, 58 French servicemen, six civilians and the two suicide bombers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/chronology-pr.cfm |title=Terrorism – Terrorist Attacks Chronology |work=CDI [[Terrorism]] Project |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402220339/http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/chronology-pr.cfm |archive-date=2 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/target/etc/cron.html |title=Frontline: Target America: Terrorist Attacks on Americans, 1979–1988 |work=PBS.org |access-date=24 August 2017 |archive-date=6 October 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011006084049/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/target/etc/cron.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lebaneseforces.com/bombingofmarinebarracks.asp |title=Historical Fact: Bombing of marine barracks |date=23 October 1983 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193030/http://www.lebaneseforces.com/bombingofmarinebarracks.asp |archive-date=3 March 2016 |website=[[Lebanese Forces|lebaneseforces.com]]}}</ref>

Between 1989 and 1990 parts on East Beirut were destroyed in [[War of Liberation (1989–1990)|fighting]] between [[Lebanese Armed Forces|Lebanese army units]] loyal to General [[Michel Aoun|Aoun]] and [[Samir Geagea]]'s [[Lebanese Maronite Christians|Maronite Christian]] [[Lebanese Forces]] with the [[Syrian Armed Forces]]-backed [[Elias Hrawi]] and [[Salim Al-Huss]] Lebanese army forces.

Since the end of the war in 1990, the people of Lebanon have been rebuilding Beirut, whose urban agglomeration was mainly constituted during war time through an anarchic urban development<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sfeir |first=Nagi |title=Realurbanism: or the Urban Realpolitik. Towards a "Spatialisation" of the Realist Paradigm from International Relations (Le Realurbanisme ou la Realpolitik de l'urbain. Le cas libanais) |url=http://geografie.ubbcluj.ro/ccau/jssp/arhiva_1_2013/01JSSP012013.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://geografie.ubbcluj.ro/ccau/jssp/arhiva_1_2013/01JSSP012013.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning |year=2013 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–10}}</ref> stretching along the littoral corridor and its nearby heights. By the start of the [[2006 Lebanon War|2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]] the city had somewhat regained its status as a tourist, cultural and intellectual centre in the Middle East and as a center for commerce, fashion, and media. The reconstruction of downtown Beirut has been largely driven by [[Solidere]], a development company established in 1994 by Prime Minister [[Rafic Hariri]]. The city has hosted both the Asian Club Basketball Championship and the Asian Football Cup, and has hosted the [[Miss Europe]] pageant nine times: 1960–1964, 1999, 2001–2002, and 2016.

[[Rafic Hariri]] was assassinated in 2005 near the [[St. Georges Hotel, Beirut|Saint George Hotel]] in Beirut.<ref>[http://www.lgic.org/en/history_lebanon2005.php History of Lebanon (The Cedar Revolution)] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113065441/http://www.lgic.org/en/history_lebanon2005.php |date=13 November 2007 }}, LGIC. Retrieved 19 November 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223232110/http://watch.windsofchange.net/revolution_03.htm |url=http://watch.windsofchange.net/revolution_03.htm |archive-date=23 December 2007 |title=Watch – The Cedar Revolution |work=The Winds of Change |access-date=19 November 2007}}</ref> A month later about one million people gathered for an [[March 14 alliance|opposition rally]] in Beirut.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4346613.stm |title='Record' protest held in Beirut |date=14 March 2005 |work=BBC News |access-date=25 August 2016 |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327031923/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4346613.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/22/AR2007112200832.html?nav=rss_email/components |title=From Hopeful To Helpless At a Protest In Lebanon |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=22 November 2007 |access-date=24 August 2017 |archive-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915181852/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/22/AR2007112200832.html?nav=rss_email/components |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Cedar Revolution]] was the largest rally in Lebanon's history at that time.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/03/14/lebanon.syria/index.html |title=Hariri sister calls for justice |work=CNN International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206051248/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/03/14/lebanon.syria/index.html |archive-date=6 December 2008}}</ref> The last Syrian troops withdrew from Beirut on 26 April 2005,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/26/newsid_4918000/4918584.stm |title=2005: Syrian troops leave Lebanon |date=26 April 2005 |work=BBC News |access-date=25 August 2016 |archive-date=10 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010225457/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/26/newsid_4918000/4918584.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> and the two countries established diplomatic relations on 15 October 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-15-voa44.cfm |title=Syria, Lebanon Formally Launch Diplomatic Relations |publisher=Voice of America |access-date=5 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202205743/http://voanews.com/english/2008-10-15-voa44.cfm |archive-date=2 December 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Streets of downtown Beirut (3).jpg|thumb|left|Street of Beirut Central District, 2023]]
During the 2006 Lebanon War, Israeli bombardment caused damage in many parts of Beirut, especially the predominantly [[Shia Islam in Lebanon|Shiite]] southern suburbs of Beirut. On 12 July 2006, the [[2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid|"Operation Truthful Promise"]] carried out by [[Hezbollah]] ended with 8 Israeli deaths and 6 injuries. In response, the IDF targeted Hezbollah's main media outlets. There were then artillery raids against targets in southern Lebanon, and the Israeli cabinet held Beirut responsible for the attacks. Then on 13 July 2006 [[Israel]] began implementing a naval and air blockade over Lebanon; during this blockade Israel bombed the runways at [[Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport|Beirut International Airport]] and the major Beirut-Damascus highway in Eastern Lebanon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/lebanon2.html |title=Background & Overview: Second Lebanon War {{!}} Jewish Virtual Library |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=14 November 2016 |archive-date=18 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218221252/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/lebanon2.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2008, after the government decided to disband Hezbollah's communications network (a decision it later rescinded), [[2008 conflict in Lebanon|violent clashes]] broke out briefly between government allies and opposition forces, before control of the city was handed over to the [[Lebanese Armed Forces|Lebanese Army]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tadamon.ca/post/category/independent-media/page/2 |title=Tadamon! " Independent Media |access-date=25 August 2016 |archive-date=12 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012093427/http://www.tadamon.ca/post/category/independent-media/page/2 }}</ref> After this a national dialogue conference was held in [[Doha]] at the invitation of the Prince of Qatar. The conference agreed to appoint a new president of Lebanon and to establish a new national government involving all the political adversaries. As a result of the [[Doha Agreement (2008)|Doha Agreement]], the opposition's barricades were dismantled and so were the opposition's protest camps in [[Martyrs' Square, Beirut|Martyrs' Square]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/mabrouk-success-in-doha/?print=true |title=A Political Breakthrough in Doha |date=21 May 2008 |access-date=25 August 2016 |archive-date=23 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523175112/http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/mabrouk-success-in-doha/?print=true }}</ref> On 19 October 2012, a car bomb killed eight people in the Beirut's neighborhood of [[Achrafieh|Achrafiyeh]], including Brigadier General [[Wissam al-Hassan]], chief of the Intelligence Bureau of the [[Internal Security Forces]]. In addition, [[Assassination of Wissam al-Hassan|78 others were wounded]] in the bombing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/57713-wissam-al-hasan-assassinated-in-ashrafiyeh-bomb-blast |title=Wissam al-Hasan Assassinated in Ashrafiyeh Bomb Blast |publisher=Naharnet |access-date=20 October 2012 |archive-date=17 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022149/http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/57713-wissam-al-hasan-assassinated-in-ashrafiyeh-bomb-blast |url-status=live }}</ref> It was the largest attack in the capital since 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/57701-8-dead-78-hurt-as-powerful-car-bomb-hits-near-ashrafiyeh-s-sassine-square |title=8 Dead, 78 Hurt as Powerful Car Bomb Hits near Ashrafiyeh's Sassine Square |publisher=Naharnet |access-date=20 October 2012 |archive-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005215706/http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/57701-8-dead-78-hurt-as-powerful-car-bomb-hits-near-ashrafiyeh-s-sassine-square |url-status=live }}</ref> On 27 December 2013, a [[December 2013 Beirut bombing|car bomb exploded]] in the [[Beirut Central District|Central District]] killing at least five people, including the former Lebanese ambassador to the U.S. [[Mohamad Chatah]], and wounding 71 others.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/27/world/meast/lebanon-explosion/ |work=CNN |title=Lebanon's Mohamad Chatah, a Hezbollah foe, killed in blast |date=28 December 2013 |access-date=6 February 2014 |archive-date=28 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228063558/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/27/world/meast/lebanon-explosion/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the [[2015 Beirut bombings|12 November 2015 Beirut bombings]], two suicide bombers detonated explosives outside a mosque and inside a bakery, killing 43 people and injuring 200. The [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-claims-deadly-dual-beirut-bombings/story?id=35156802 |title=ISIS Claims Deadly Dual Beirut Bombings |date=12 November 2015 |work=ABC News |access-date=25 August 2016 |archive-date=11 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711074418/https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-claims-deadly-dual-beirut-bombings/story?id=35156802 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="fp">{{cite web |url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/41-killed-200-wounded-in-beirut-twin-blasts-is-claims-responsibility-2504508.html |title=43 killed, 239 wounded in Beirut twin blasts; Islamic State claims responsibility |work=First Post |date=13 November 2015 |access-date=13 November 2015 |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012074251/http://www.firstpost.com/world/41-killed-200-wounded-in-beirut-twin-blasts-is-claims-responsibility-2504508.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 4 August 2020, [[2020 Beirut explosion|a massive explosion in the Port of Beirut]] resulted in the death of at least 203 people (with an additional three missing)<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-08-10 |title=Lebanon's government 'to resign over blast' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53720383 |access-date=2020-08-10 |archive-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810112441/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53720383 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the wounding of more than 6,500. Foreigners from at least 22 countries were among the casualties. Furthermore, at least 108 [[Bangladesh]]is were injured in the blasts, making them the most affected foreign community. The cause of the blast is believed to be from government-confiscated and stored [[ammonium nitrate]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Urbina |first=Ian |date=August 11, 2020 |title="Behind the Beirut blast: the perils of abandoned ships and cargo" |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Behind-the-Beirut-blast-the-perils-of-abandoned-15474020.php |access-date=23 October 2020 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702230741/https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Behind-the-Beirut-blast-the-perils-of-abandoned-15474020.php |url-status=live }}</ref> As many as 300,000 people have been left homeless by the explosion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=wires |first=Staff and |title=Beirut explosion left 300,000 homeless, caused up to $15&nbsp;billion in damage |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/08/06/aid-lebanon-beirut-explosion-force-corruption-reforms/3307109001/ |access-date=2020-08-10 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US |archive-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810032110/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/08/06/aid-lebanon-beirut-explosion-force-corruption-reforms/3307109001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Protesters in Lebanon called on the government on 8 August 2020 for the end of the alleged negligence that resulted in the 4 August explosion.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-security-blast/lebanese-call-for-an-uprising-after-protests-rock-beirut-idUSKCN2550CI |title=Lebanese call for an uprising after protests rock Beirut |access-date=9 August 2020 |website=Reuters |date=9 August 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029150442/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-security-blast/lebanese-call-for-an-uprising-after-protests-rock-beirut-idUSKCN2550CI |url-status=live }}</ref> On 10 August 2020, as a result of the protests, Prime Minister [[Hassan Diab]] announced his resignation.<ref>{{cite news |date=10 August 2020 |title=Lebanon's prime minister announces he will resign amid large protests following last week's Beirut blast |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/08/10/lebanons-prime-minister-announces-he-will-resign-amid-large-protests-following-last-weeks-beirut-blast/ |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref> Weeks later, a huge fire erupted in an oil and tyre warehouse in the port's duty-free zone, on 10 September 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/10/middleeast/beirut-port-fire-intl/index.html |title=Beirut port ablaze, weeks after massive blast |access-date=10 September 2020 |website=CNN |date=10 September 2020 |archive-date=11 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911150355/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/10/middleeast/beirut-port-fire-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>