On 15 March 1978, Israel launched Operation Litani, sending its forces into southern Lebanon in the first large‑scale Israeli invasion of the country.

Israeli leaders said the operation was a response to a deadly Palestinian attack inside Israel days earlier, launched by fighters operating from Lebanese territory.

Some observers argued the invasion reflected longer‑standing Israeli security planning, rather than a response to a single attack alone.

The fighting caused widespread civilian casualties, and prompted the United Nations to call for Israeli withdrawal and establish a peacekeeping force in a country already destabilised by civil war.

Presented here is a series of ITN reports on the 1978 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.