From the beginning of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Israelis and their agents were working toward being able to end the Palestinian presence in Lebanon. This massacre was carried out by groups of Lebanese forces under the leadership of Eli Haqiba, head of the Kata'ib intelligence apparatus and with the approval of the Israeli Minister of Defense, Ariel Sharon.

A high-level meeting was held on Thursday morning, September 16, 1982 in which Israel was represented by General Amir Dawri, Supreme Commander of the Northern Forces. The job of carrying out the operation was assigned to Eli Haqiba.

The process of storming the camps began before sunset on Thursday, September 16, and continued for approximately 36 hours. The Israeli Army surrounded the camps, providing the Kata'ib with all the support, aid and facilities necessary for them to carry out the massacre. They also set off incandescent bombs in the air in order to turn night into day so that none of the Palestinians would be able to escape. And those who did flee - women, children and the elderly - were brought back inside the camps by Israeli soldiers to face their destiny.

At first they started killing people with knives so that they wouldn't make any noise. Then on Friday there were snipers in the Shatila camp killing anybody who crossed the street. On Friday afternoon, armed men began going into the houses and firing on men, women and children. Then they started blowing up the houses and turning them into piles of rubble.

At noon on Friday, the second day of the terrorist massacre, and with the approval of the Israeli Army, the Kata'ib forces began receiving more ammunition, while the forces which had been in the camps were replaced by other fighters.

On Saturday morning, September 18, 1982, the massacre had reached its peak, and thousands of Sabra and Shatila camp residents had been killed. Information about the massacre began to leak out after a number of children and women fled to the Gaza Hospital in the Shatila camp, where they told doctors what was happening.

The massacre continued until noon on Saturday, September 18, leaving between 3,000 and 3,500 Palestinian civilians dead, most of them women, children and elderly people.