At least 13 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike near a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
The Israeli military said it had targeted members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas “operating at a training range in the Ein el-Hilweh area.”
The report said Hamas used the site to plan and carry out attacks against Israel, a claim Hamas rejected, calling it a “fabrication and a lie.”
Israel has been carrying out regular airstrikes on people and places in Lebanon since agreeing to end the conflict with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Most of the attacks targeted Hezbollah, but Israel has also attacked Hezbollah.
In addition to the dead, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least four people were injured in the attack.
Photos show emergency responders at the entrance to Ein el-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.
Online footage showed ambulances rushing through the camp’s crowded narrow streets, with huge plumes of smoke billowing from the area.
Initial reports said the strike mainly hit crowded areas outside the mosque at night.
Hamas condemned the attack, saying “there are no military facilities in Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the sites targeted were “open playgrounds.”
“Ahead of the attack, measures were taken including the use of precision munitions, aerial observation, and additional intelligence information to reduce the potential for harm to civilians,” the IDF said in a statement.
Hamas attacked southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Israel’s military response has killed at least 69,169 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified the following day, October 7, 2023, after the Lebanese group fired rockets at Israeli positions. Hezbollah said it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated for 13 months, culminating in October 2024 with heavy Israeli bombing and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities said the Israeli attack killed about 4,000 people there, including many civilians, and forced the displacement of more than 1.2 million residents. Israeli authorities said more than 80 soldiers and 47 civilians were killed in the fighting.
