Deadly Strike Hits Refugee Camp in Southern Lebanon
An Israeli drone strike targeted a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, resulting in 13 fatalities and multiple injuries, according to Lebanese state media and government officials. This incident represents the most lethal single attack on Lebanese soil since a US-brokered ceasefire ended the intense Israel-Hezbollah war in late November 2024.
Conflicting Accounts of the Target
The strike, carried out by an Israeli drone, struck a vehicle located in the car park of a mosque within the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, situated on the outskirts of the coastal city of Sidon. The Lebanese National News Agency provided this initial report from the scene.
In a swift response, the Israeli military released a statement claiming it had attacked a Hamas training compound that was actively being used to prepare an imminent attack against Israel. The military further asserted its commitment to continue operations against Hamas "wherever the group operates."
However, Hamas officials strongly contested this narrative. The group issued a formal statement condemning the attack, insisting that the strike hit a sports playground and vehemently denying the existence of any training facility at the location. Fighters affiliated with Hamas were reported to have restricted journalists from accessing the immediate area as emergency services worked to evacuate the wounded and the deceased.
A Tense Backdrop of Ongoing Conflict
This deadly event occurs against a backdrop of persistent tension. For the past two years, Israeli airstrikes within Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of numerous officials from the militant Hezbollah group as well as from Palestinian factions like Hamas. A significant precedent was set on 2 January 2024, when a drone strike in a southern suburb of Beirut killed Saleh Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas and a founder of its military wing.
The broader conflict traces its roots to the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, led by Hamas, which killed approximately 1,200 people. This triggered an Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip that, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, has led to tens of thousands of Palestinian casualties.
The subsequent war between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale conflict by late September 2024, resulted in profound devastation. The World Bank estimated it caused over $11 billion in destruction and claimed more than 4,000 lives in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. In Israel, the death toll was reported at 127.
Despite the ceasefire that ended that war, the Lebanese Health Ministry has reported that more than 270 people have been killed and around 850 wounded by subsequent Israeli military actions, underscoring the fragile and volatile nature of the current truce.
