The Syrian Missile Crisis in 1981

Abstract

The clashes reached a peak between the Syrian forces and the Lebanese forces on April 2, 1981 in the city of Zahle. They gave Israel an excuse to wage war against Syria and end its presence in Lebanon, as well as the evacuation of Palestinians from Beirut. The Israeli intervention alongside the Lebanese forces provoked the anger of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. To increase tensions between Syria and Israel, so President Assad ordered the deployment of a number of Syrian-type missiles to the Lebanese Bekaa Valley to deal with Israeli aircraft