BEIRUT (BN24) — An Israeli airstrike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed 13 people and wounded several others, state media and government officials said. It was the deadliest strike on Lebanon since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago.
The drone strike hit a car in the parking lot of a mosque in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp on the outskirts of the coastal city of Sidon, the state-run National News Agency said. The Lebanese Health Ministry said 13 people were killed and several others wounded in the airstrike, without giving further details.
Hamas fighters in the area prevented journalists from reaching the scene, as ambulances rushed to evacuate the wounded and the dead.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas training compound that was being used to prepare an attack against Israel and its army. It added that the Israeli army would continue to act against Hamas wherever the group operates.
Hamas condemned the attack in a statement saying the strike hit a sports playground and denying that it was a training compound.
Over the past two years, Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed scores of officials from the militant Hezbollah group as well as Palestinian factions such as Hamas.
Saleh Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas and a founder of the group’s military wing, was killed in a drone strike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Jan. 2, 2024. Several other Hamas officials have been killed in strikes since then.
Hamas led the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. That sparked Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
A day after the Israel-Hamas war started, Hezbollah began firing rockets toward Israeli posts along the border. Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon, and the two sides became locked in an escalating conflict that became a full-blown war in late September 2024.
That war, the most recent of several conflicts involving Hezbollah over the past four decades, killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion worth of destruction, according to the World Bank. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.
The war ended in late November 2024 with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Since then, Israel has carried out scores of airstrikes in Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah is trying to rebuild its capabilities.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry has reported more than 270 people killed and around 850 wounded by Israeli military actions since the ceasefire.
The Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, established in 1948 following the creation of Israel, is one of the largest Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. The camp houses tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, living in crowded conditions on the outskirts of Sidon, a major coastal city in southern Lebanon.
The disputed nature of the target reflects the fundamental disagreement over the strike. Israel’s characterization of the site as a Hamas training compound preparing attacks contrasts sharply with Hamas’s claim that the strike hit a sports playground, raising questions about civilian casualties in a densely populated refugee camp.
The restriction of journalist access by Hamas fighters prevented independent verification of the circumstances surrounding the strike and its aftermath. The presence of Hamas security forces controlling access to the scene complicates efforts to assess the nature of the target and casualties.
The designation of this strike as the deadliest since the November 2024 ceasefire underscores the escalation in violence over the past year. The ceasefire agreement, brokered by the United States, was intended to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah but has not prevented continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
The Lebanese Health Ministry’s casualty figures, showing more than 270 killed and around 850 wounded since the ceasefire took effect, indicate ongoing military operations despite the formal end to the Israel-Hezbollah war. These numbers suggest Israel has continued targeting what it identifies as militant infrastructure and personnel.
The historical context of Israeli strikes on Palestinian faction leaders in Lebanon demonstrates a pattern of targeted operations. The January 2024 killing of Saleh Arouri in Beirut represented a significant escalation, targeting a senior Hamas political figure in Lebanon’s capital rather than in border areas or refugee camps.
The broader regional conflict, which began with Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and expanded to include Hezbollah’s involvement, has created a complex security situation in Lebanon. The country hosts both Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group with significant political influence, and various Palestinian factions including Hamas operating from refugee camps.
The economic toll of the Israel-Hezbollah war, estimated at $11 billion in destruction by the World Bank, has added to Lebanon’s existing financial crisis. The country was already experiencing severe economic collapse before the 2024 conflict, and the additional destruction has further strained recovery efforts.
The casualty disparity between Lebanon and Israel during the 2024 war, with more than 4,000 Lebanese deaths including hundreds of civilians compared to 127 Israeli deaths including 80 soldiers, reflects the intensity and location of the fighting. Much of the combat occurred on Lebanese territory, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions in civilian areas.
Israel’s stated justification for continued strikes in Lebanon, that Hezbollah is attempting to rebuild its military capabilities, suggests Israeli forces view the ceasefire as a temporary pause rather than a permanent end to hostilities. This interpretation allows for continued military operations under the framework of preventing future threats.
The targeting of Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, a location with significant civilian population density, raises concerns about the distinction between military targets and civilian areas. Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon have historically been sites where various Palestinian factions maintain presence and influence.
The strike occurring in a mosque parking lot, as reported by the National News Agency, adds another dimension to questions about the appropriateness of the target. Religious sites and their immediate surroundings traditionally receive protected status under international humanitarian law, though this protection can be forfeited if used for military purposes.
The evacuation efforts by ambulances amid Hamas security presence suggests chaotic conditions at the scene following the strike. The combination of casualties requiring medical attention and armed faction control of the area created challenges for emergency response.
Israel’s declaration that it will continue acting against Hamas wherever the group operates indicates a policy of extraterritorial operations not limited by Lebanese sovereignty or the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. This approach treats Hamas as a legitimate target regardless of location or diplomatic agreements with other parties.
