Politics Lebanon: 13 dead in Israeli attack on Palestinians
The Israeli army claims to have attacked terrorists in a "Palestinian training camp" in Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Health in Beirut accused Israel of attacking the largest refugee camp for Palestinians in Lebanon on Tuesday. At least 13 people were killed and others injured in the airstrike. According to reports, the attack may have been aimed at a meeting of leaders of the Islamist Hamas. Hamas stated that there was no training camp of the Palestinian organization there.
19.11.2025, 07:06
19.11.2025, 07:24
SDA
Israeli attacks on Hamas positions in Lebanon are rare. In July, a senior Hamas commander was killed in an attack in Tripoli. Most recently, Israel's military stepped up its airstrikes in southern Lebanon against the Shiite Hezbollah militia, which is allied with Hamas.
Sources inside the Palestinian-inhabited neighborhood of Ain al-Hilwah near the coastal city of Sidon reported that the death toll from Tuesday's Israeli airstrike could be far higher than the 13 reported so far. The attack had hit the edge of the camp.
An Israeli army spokesman said that the military had attacked "terrorist elements". A building used by Hamas fighters for training had been hit. The army is trying to prevent Hamas from gaining a foothold in Lebanon and will continue to take action against fighters of the terrorist organization.
Ain al-Hilwah is located in the south of the country and is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon with around 80,000 inhabitants. Most of them are refugees from the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 and their descendants. Other Palestinians were displaced there during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). In recent years, Palestinians from Syria have also been added due to the civil war there.
Hamas: Victims were young people on a sports field
Hamas announced that there were no military facilities in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon. The victims were young people who happened to be on a sports field at the time of the attack.
Like Hamas, the Hezbollah militia operating in Lebanon is supported by Iran. Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon have recently increased significantly again after both sides agreed to a ceasefire a year ago following months of war. With the support of the USA, Israel is pushing for Hezbollah to be disarmed and accuses the organization of secretly arming itself.
Reports: US representatives to meet Hamas officials
According to media reports, the US special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, wants to meet Chalil al-Haja, the highest-ranking Hamas official abroad, in Istanbul today. The meeting is to discuss efforts to maintain the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the "Times of Israel" reported, citing an Arab diplomat. There was initially no confirmation of the meeting from the US side.
Witkoff had already met with al-Haja at the beginning of October - shortly before the start of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The US government classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization and does not actually negotiate directly with it - at least that is the official line. After the first meeting, Witkoff said that the Hamas leadership had agreed to its disarmament. However, the terrorist organization rejects this.
