Lebanon Mourns After Deadly Strike Near Ein el-Hilweh Refugee Camp

Lebanon is grieving yet another tragedy. At least 13 people have been killed in an Israeli

strike near the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. For a country already carrying the weight of displacement, crisis, and conflict, this latest attack has left families shattered.

Israel’s military claimed the strike targeted Hamas members “operating in a training compound” in the area. Hamas rejected the accusation as “fabrication and lies,” insisting the site was nothing more than an open sports field frequently used by young people and local communities.

Inside Lebanon, the shock was immediate. The camp already one of the most overcrowded in the country was thrown into chaos as ambulances rushed through narrow Lebanese streets, trying desperately to reach the wounded. Emergency workers gathered at the entrance of Ein el-Hilweh, facing scenes of destruction all too familiar to Lebanon’s people.

Witnesses said the strike hit near a mosque, a place that is often full of life at night. Instead, smoke filled the air and the sound of sirens echoed across the camp.

Israel said it used “precision munitions” and other measures to limit civilian casualties, but in Lebanon, the grief is deep. For the families who lost loved ones, for communities who have endured decades of instability, those statements offer little comfort.

This tragedy comes at a time when Lebanon is still healing from more than a year of cross-border violence. Since the October 2023 attacks, Israel has carried out regular strikes inside Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah and, at times, Hamas positions. The conflict escalated sharply, culminating in a devastating Israeli bombing campaign and ground incursion into southern Lebanon in late 2024.

Lebanese authorities report that these attacks have killed around 4,000 people, many of them civilians, and displaced over 1.2 million residents families once again forced to leave their homes and seek safety in a country already overwhelmed.

And through it all, the people of Lebanon continue to pay the heaviest price. Ordinary men, women, and children caught in a conflict they did not choose living through nights of fear, sudden explosions, and heartbreaking loss.

Another strike on Lebanese soil.

Another night of mourning.

Another reminder that the human cost of this conflict continues to grow.