15. September 2025

Israeli strike near Lebanese Palestinian refugee camp kills 13, health ministry says

At least 13 people have been killed in an Israeli strike near a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, the country’s Health Ministry has confirmed.

The Israeli military stated it had targeted Hamas operatives “operating in a training compound… in the Ein el-Hilweh area.

It added that the location was used by Hamas to plan and carry out attacks against Israel— a claim Hamas rejected as “fabrications and falsehoods.

Israel has conducted regular air strikes on targets in Lebanon since a deal to end the conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. Most strikes have targeted Hezbollah, but Israel has also attacked Hamas in the country.

In addition to the 13 fatalities, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least four people were injured in the strike.

Images showed emergency workers at the entrance to Ein el-Hilweh—the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.

Footage circulating online also showed ambulances rushing through the narrow streets of the crowded camp as a large plume of smoke rose from the targeted area.

Initial reports indicated the strike hit a location outside a mosque that is typically busy at night.

Condemning the attack, Hamas said it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was an “open sports field.

In its statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said “prior to the strike, measures were taken to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence gathering.

Hamas attacked southern Israel from Gaza on 7 October 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel’s military response has killed at least 69,169 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalated after the Lebanese group fired rockets at Israeli positions the day after 7 October 2023. Hezbollah said it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel and Hezbollah engaged in an escalating conflict for 13 months, culminating in an intense Israeli bombing campaign and ground incursion into southern Lebanon in October 2024.

Lebanese authorities said Israel’s attacks killed approximately 4,000 people there—including many civilians—and displaced more than 1.2 million residents. Israeli authorities said more than 80 of its soldiers and 47 civilians were killed in the hostilities.

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