At least three people were martyred this Friday evening as a result of an airstrike carried out by an Israeli occupation army drone on the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the city of Sidon, southern Lebanon. Field sources reported that the drone directly fired three missiles towards the densely populated Hitten neighborhood, causing widespread destruction in the targeted area.
Sources within the Hamas movement confirmed that the bombing targeted a headquarters designated for the joint security force inside the camp, denying Israeli claims that the site was used as a center for the movement's activities. The sources indicated that the victims fell while carrying out their security and organizational duties inside the camp, which already suffers from difficult humanitarian conditions.
For its part, the Lebanese National News Agency clarified that the three missiles accurately hit their targets in the Hitten neighborhood, resulting in a number of serious injuries in addition to the three martyrs. Ambulance and civil defense teams are currently working to recover the victims and transport the injured to nearby hospitals for necessary treatment.
In the context of official responses, the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee issued a strongly worded statement condemning the repeated targeting of Ain al-Hilweh camp by the occupation forces. The committee considered this attack a blatant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a breach of all international laws and conventions that protect civilians in conflict zones.
The committee stressed in its statement that this aggression constitutes a direct threat to the recently signed ceasefire agreement, warning that such operations raise the level of tension in Palestinian camps. It called on the international community to intervene immediately to stop these violations that threaten the fragile stability that Lebanon seeks to maintain.
Coinciding with the raid, Lebanese airspace witnessed intense overflights by Israeli occupation warplanes and drones over the Zahrani areas and neighboring villages at very low altitudes. Local sources also reported spotting hostile reconnaissance planes circling over the capital Beirut, reaching the southern suburbs, which caused a state of anxiety among residents.
This escalation comes a few months after a horrific massacre committed by the occupation army in the same camp last November, which resulted in 13 martyrs and dozens injured. The repetition of these attacks indicates an Israeli strategy aimed at destabilizing security within Palestinian refugee communities in the diaspora.
The Israeli army, for its part, tried to justify the operation in an official statement, claiming that it targeted a headquarters from which Hamas elements were active in the Ain al-Hilweh area. However, field facts and eyewitness testimonies confirm that the targeted site belongs to the security force responsible for maintaining order within the camp in coordination with the Lebanese authorities.
It is worth noting that the widespread Israeli aggression against Lebanon since October 2023 has left a heavy toll of bloodshed, with more than 4,000 Lebanese and Palestinians martyred and about 17,000 others injured. Despite the signing of a ceasefire agreement at the end of last year, Israeli air and ground violations have not completely stopped.
A state of anger and sadness prevails in the alleys of Ain al-Hilweh camp after the fall of the new martyrs, amidst calls to escalate protests against Israeli practices. Political circles in Lebanon are cautiously monitoring the repercussions of this attack on the continuity of the fragile calm, in light of the ongoing Israeli military provocations in Lebanese airspace.
The ongoing aggression constitutes a breach of the ceasefire agreement, threatens fragile stability, and raises the level of tension within Palestinian camps.
שתף את דעתך
3 Dead in Israeli Raid Targeting Security Headquarters in Ain al-Hilweh Camp, Southern Lebanon