In January 2002, he was assassinated in a car bombing at his house in Beirut, shortly before he was to testify about the Sabra and Shatila massacre in a Belgian court.

[3] Hobeika distinguished himself as a ruthless fighter in the Lebanese Civil War, gaining the nickname "HK" after the Heckler & Koch machine gun he carried.

[5] He steadily became prominent in the Phalange, part of the pro-Christian Kataeb Party, which had defeated rival Christian militias by July 1980 and incorporated them into the Lebanese Forces (LF).

Minister of Defence Ariel Sharon and Chief of Staff General Raful Eitan had decided that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would not enter the Palestinian refugee camps but this task should be undertaken by Lebanese Christian militias.

[4] In December 1985, the various Christian militias, the Shiite Amal Movement and the Druze Progressive Socialist Party met in Damascus to reach an agreement on political reforms as well as special relations with Syria, called the Tripartite Accord, which would also end the civil war.

However, on 15 January 1986, President Amine Gemayel and Samir Geagea organised a coup against Hobeika, thus rendering the agreement null and void.

[2] In June 2001, Chibli Mallat, a left-wing Maronite lawyer, filed a case against Ariel Sharon in Belgium under a law that allowed foreigners to be sued for crimes against humanity.

Just before his death, Hobeika publicly declared his intention to testify against Sharon about his involvement in the Sabra and Shatila massacres in the Belgian court.

Josy Dubié, a Belgian senator, was quoted as saying that Hobeika had told him several days before his death that he had "revelations" to disclose about the massacres and felt "threatened".

However, progress was too slow compared to the massive increase the nation's power consumption, as few electrical projects were completed over 18 years of civil unrest.

[13] A group, Lebanese for a Free and Independent Lebanon, issued a statement after the assassination, claiming responsibility for the killing of Hobeika.

"[3] Others have speculated that Syrian intelligence assassinated Hobeika, who had "specifically stated that he did not plan to identify Sharon as being responsible for Sabra and Shatila", to prevent him from testifying on Syria's involvement in the massacre.