Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon resulted in the deaths of at least 13 individuals on Tuesday, according to an updated casualty count. The strike targeted a Hamas compound, as stated by Israeli authorities.
Despite a ceasefire agreed upon last November, which aimed to end over a year of conflict with Hezbollah—a Palestinian militant group Hamas ally—Israel has continued its airstrikes in Lebanon. This includes operations during the two-month war and subsequent ceasefire period.
While Israel typically targets Hezbollah operatives or sites linked to the Iran-backed group, it has also focused on Hamas operatives in Lebanon. This has occurred both during the active conflict and following the ceasefire.
The health ministry announced an updated toll of “13 dead and several others wounded” from the strike at the Ain al-Helweh refugee camp, situated on the outskirts of Sidon. Ambulances are actively transporting the injured to nearby hospitals.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, the strike initially targeted a vehicle near the Khalid bin al-Walid mosque and later reportedly hit the mosque itself and a nearby center of the same name.
The Israeli military issued a statement asserting that it “struck terrorists operating within a Hamas training compound in the Ain al-Helweh area of southern Lebanon,” emphasizing its ongoing operations against Hamas’s presence in Lebanon.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanon reported that Israeli strikes on vehicles in other parts of the country’s south resulted in two additional fatalities.
The Israeli military has yet to respond to a request for comment from AFP regarding these incidents.
