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A bomb, later estimated to have weighed at least 200 lbs., had somehow been placed on the third floor of the heavily guarded building. When it was detonated, probably by remote control, the charge shattered most of the structure, causing the upper stories to crash down on the first floor, where the President-elect and 100 members of his party were holding their regular weekly meeting. By 4:17, when the first ambulance arrived, the whole street was filled with shouts of "Bashir! Bashir!" A Phalangist soldier threw his rifle to the ground, sank to his knees and sobbed. A fire engine arrived, but there was no water for its hoses.
Inside the building, TIME Correspondent David Halevy found a scene of death and devastation. "Someone was throwing mattresses and pieces of cloth over the bodies on the floor. The air was filled with the stench of cordite, dust and blood. Pillars of concrete, stone and pieces of metal were everywhere. About 20 people were trying to dig somebody out of the rubble. They were screaming, 'Hada Bashir! Hada Bashir! [This is Bashir!]' Half of his body was buried beneath stone and chunks of concrete. He did not move, nor did he talk. His face was visible, but to me he was not recognizable. He was either very badly wounded or already dead. I looked at my watch: it was 4:28 p.m."
Eight hours passed before the Lebanese radio announced the news of the assassination of Gemayel, whose body was so badly disfigured that his wife had to confirm her husband's identity by looking at his wedding ring. At first there were reports that Gemayel had walked to a nearby hospital to be treated for minor wounds. But in midevening, the Lebanese radio abruptly switched from its normal programming and began playing somber music. The announcement of his death came at midnight. All told, 26 died in the explosion.
The assassination of Gemayel, who was due to have taken office this Thursday, shattered any hopes for a firm beginning to an orderly resolution of Lebanon's many problems. Nobody even knew who would be running the country once the term of the present President, Elias Sarkis, expired on Sept. 23. Among the very few announced candidates was Gemayel's elder brother Amin, 40, who first declared that he was assuming command of the Lebanese Forces and later was nominated for the presidency by the Phalangist Party. Amin is neither as popular nor as strong a potential leader as the late Bashir. But the Maronite Christian community, from which the President is traditionally chosen, was quickly rallying behind him. Amin, who is supported by 16,000 militiamen, was even beginning to sound a bit presidential. At his brother's funeral Amin swore that "the march of Bashir Gemayel will continue until we bring peace to Lebanon's soil."
Even before Bashir was buried, events in Lebanon took another ominous turn. At dawn on Wednesday, the Israelis, arguing that they needed to maintain order, moved into West Beirut, the area they had besieged for three months this summer. Now, with more than 11,000 Palestine Liberation Organization fighters out of the city and evacuated to other Arab countries, the Israelis encountered only modest resistance from Lebanese leftist militiamen and remnants of P.L.O. forces.