remains the "single deadliest act" of violence perpetrated by an Arab state upon its own population in the modern history of the Middle East. Some suspect the Hafez al-Assad regime of using chemical weapons in the city.

Nearly two-thirds of the city was destroyed in the Ba'athist military operation. Robert Fisk, who was present at Hama during the events of the massacre, reported that indiscriminate bombing had razed much of the city to the ground and that the vast majority of the victims were civilians.