The Sabra and Shatila massacre was the slaughter of between 762 and 3,500 civilians , almost all Palestinians , by a Lebanese Christian militia in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut , Lebanon from approximately 6:00 pm 16 September to 8:00 am 18 September 1982 . The massacre was presented as retaliation for the assassination of the newly elected Lebanese president Bachir Gemayel , the leader of the Lebanese Kataeb Party . The Phalangist militia was led by intelligence chief Elie Hobeika . Many of the victims were tortured before they were killed . Women were raped and some victims were skinned alive . Others had limbs chopped off with axes
Sabra and Shatila massacre
Sabra and Shatila massacre
Kataeb Party