At least 13 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health confirmed.
The drone strike targeted a car in the parking area of a mosque in the Ein el-Hilweh camp near Sidon on Tuesday. Four people were reported wounded, with ambulances transporting more victims to nearby hospitals.
Israel said the strike hit members of Hamas operating in a training compound in the refugee camp. Avichay Adraee, Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesperson, stated, “We will continue to act forcefully against Hamas’s attempts to establish a foothold in Lebanon and eliminate elements that threaten our security.”
Hamas denied the claim, calling it a “fabrication” and asserting the group has no training facilities in Lebanon. The group condemned the strike as a “barbaric aggression against our innocent Palestinian people and Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli strikes on cars in southern Lebanon reportedly killed two additional people. Israel has targeted Palestinian officials and factions in Lebanon since launching its war on Gaza in October 2023, following a Hamas attack on southern Israel.
The conflict in Gaza has killed at least 69,483 Palestinians and wounded 170,706. In Israel, 1,139 people were killed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, with over 200 taken captive.
The conflict expanded when Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel the day after the Gaza war began. Israel responded with shelling and air strikes in Lebanon, escalating the confrontation into a full-scale war by late September 2024.
During the war, more than 4,000 people were killed in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire ended major hostilities in late November 2024. Since then, Israel has carried out dozens of air attacks in Lebanon, citing Hezbollah’s attempts to rebuild military capabilities. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports over 270 killed and around 850 wounded by Israeli strikes since the ceasefire.
Karim Emile Bitar, a Lebanese political analyst, told Al Jazeera, “There are daily violations of the ceasefire by Israel, and it would be unfair to blame the Lebanese government. Lebanon took historic steps by asking its army to disarm Hezbollah.”
Bitar added that Israel has not fully honored the ceasefire terms. The agreement, signed on November 27, 2024, required Israel to withdraw forces from southern Lebanon by January 26, a deadline that has passed without compliance.
The ongoing attacks threaten regional stability and highlight the fragile nature of the ceasefire. Both Lebanese authorities and international observers have called for restraint and adherence to the agreement to prevent further civilian casualties.
