Israeli strike on Palestinian camp in south Lebanon kills at least 13

Lebanese officials say an Israeli airstrike late Tuesday on the crowded Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon left at least 13 people dead and many others wounded. Israel said the attack targeted a Hamas training compound, a claim the group forcefully denied.

Firefighters worked to control a blaze on the ground floor of a damaged building as armed men fired into the air to clear paths for ambulances rushing casualties out of the camp, located on the outskirts of Sidon. Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed the death toll and warned that the number of injured was still rising.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the strike initially hit a car near the Khalid bin al-Walid mosque, with unconfirmed reports that the mosque and an affiliated centre were also targeted. An AFP reporter on the scene saw no visible damage to the mosque, though rescuers were still collecting body parts from the site.

The Israeli military said it struck “terrorists operating in a Hamas training compound” as part of ongoing operations against the group’s presence in Lebanon. Hamas accused Israel of a “brutal assault” and rejected the claim of a training site as “fabrications,” saying the location was an open sports field and that the victims were young boys gathered there.

Despite a ceasefire reached last November aimed at reducing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, cross-border strikes have continued. Israel has regularly targeted Hezbollah positions but has also carried out attacks on Hamas figures in Lebanon.

Tensions remain high as Lebanon, under US pressure and concerned about escalating Israeli attacks, has begun moves to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state groups. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun previously agreed that weapons inside Palestinian camps would be turned over to Lebanese authorities, though Hamas has not committed to disarming.

Israel has conducted several fatal strikes in southern Lebanon this year, including the killing of a Hamas commander and two of his children in April. Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanese officials reported two additional deaths from separate Israeli strikes in the south.

SR