Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri was a Lebanese businessman and politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until he resigned on 20 October 2004, before his assassination in 2005.
Imad Fayez Mughniyeh, also known by his nom de guerre al-Hajj Radwan, was a Lebanese militant leader who was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's leadership. Information about Mughniyeh is limited, but he is believed to have been Hezbollah's chief of staff and understood to have overseen Hezbollah's military, intelligence, and security apparatuses. He was one of the main founders of Hezbollah in the 1980s, and was described as a skilled military tactician and highly elusive figure. He was often referred to as an ‘untraceable ghost’.
The Cedar Revolution, also known as the Independence uprising, was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. The popular movement was remarkable for its avoidance of violence, peaceful approach, and its total reliance on methods of civil resistance.
General elections were held in Lebanon in May and June 2005 to elect the 128 members of the Parliament of Lebanon. They were the second elections in thirty years without a Syrian military or intelligence presence in Lebanon. These elections were the first in Lebanese history to be won outright by a single electoral block and were also the first to be monitored by the United Nations.
Samir Kassir was a Lebanese-Palestinian journalist of An-Nahar and professor of history at Saint-Joseph University, who was an advocate of democracy and prominent opponent of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. He was assassinated in 2005 as part of a series of assassinations of anti-Syria Lebanese political figures such as Rafic Hariri and George Hawi.
George Hawi was a Lebanese politician and former secretary general of the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP). An outspoken critic of Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs, he was killed in 2005 by a bomb placed under the passenger seat of his car. Lebanese people accused the Syrian government of assassinating him. He was the stepfather of the Lebanese Armenian politician Rafi Madayan, who also has a stepson, Charbel Khalifeh Hachem.
Since 2004, a series of bombings and assassinations have struck Lebanon, most of them occurring in and around the capital, Beirut. This wave of bombings began with the assassination attempt on Marwan Hamadeh, then peaked with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri on 14 February 2005, which touched off the Cedar Revolution and the withdrawal of Syrian troops. After the massive protests sparked by Hariri's killing, several more bombings hit Lebanon.
Gebran Ghassan Tueni was a Lebanese politician and the former editor and publisher of daily paper An Nahar, established by his grandfather, also named Gebran Tueni, in 1933. He was assassinated in 2005 as part of a series of assassinations of Syria's critics in Lebanon.
Mohamad Chatah was a Lebanese economist and diplomat.
Walid Eido was a member of the Future Movement, Lebanese political movement and a member of the Lebanese Parliament. He was also a member of the March 14 Coalition.
On 14 February 2005, former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri was assassinated along with 21 others in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kilograms of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel. Among the dead were several of Hariri's bodyguards and former Minister of the Economy, Bassel Fleihan.
Mustafa Badreddine was a Lebanese militant leader and both the cousin and brother-in-law of Imad Mughniyeh. He was nicknamed Dhu al-Fiqar referring to the legendary sword of Ali. His death was seen as one of the biggest blows in the Hezbollah leadership.
Wissam Adnan al-Hassan was a brigadier general at the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) and the head of its intelligence-oriented Information Branch. Seen as a leading Sunni figure in Lebanon, he was also a key player in the opposition March 14 alliance without having a political position.
On 19 October 2012, Wissam al-Hassan, a brigadier general of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) and the head of its intelligence-oriented information branch, died along with several others killed by a car bomb in the Achrafieh district of Beirut. The killing of a senior figure closely linked with the anti-Assad camp in Lebanon led to immediate speculation that Syria, or its allies, were behind the attack in Beirut. Al-Hassan had also led the investigation that implicated Syria and its ally Hezbollah in the killing of the former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
On 9 July 2013 the southern suburb of Beirut, Bir el-Abed was hit by a car bomb. The bombing injured at least 53 people, as it was close to a supermarket which was heavily packed in preparation for Ramadan, but did not claim any lives. The bombing increased fear amongst the Lebanese people that the war in Syria was close to entering Lebanese territory. This bombing took place in the heart of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group's primary location. This group is a Shia Islamist political party known for supporting, and fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war; leading people to believe that the bombing was intentional, and intending to relay a message to those it targeted.
From its inception, the Syrian Civil War has produced and inspired a great deal of strife and unrest in the nation of Lebanon. Prior to the Battle of Arsal in August 2014, the Lebanese Army has tried to keep out of it and the violence has been mostly between various factions within the country and overt Syrian involvement has been limited to airstrikes and occasional accidental incursions.
The following lists events that happened in 2007 in Lebanon.
Wissam Eid was a Lebanese police officer and senior intelligence official. He is best known for providing vital information about the assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri to an international investigation on the assassination. However, Eid was assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut on 25 January 2008.
Unit 121 is Hezbollah's covert assassination squad, tasked with executing targeted killings and operations. Historically, the unit operated directly under the guidance of the group's secretary-general Hassan Nassrallah, and is backed by Iran.
