News - Middle East: Hamas says a deadly airstrike on Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp has killed several unarmed civilians, and rejected Israeli claims that the attack targeted one of the resistance group’s training facilities.

The Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people and wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Local reports described gruesome scenes, with body parts scattered near the Khalid Ibn al-Walid Mosque, while the injured were rushed to hospitals in Sidon.

Israel’s military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” that was being used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime. The regime's military always makes such unfounded claims. 

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” saying that it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

“The Israeli terrorist attack is a new episode in the ongoing series of crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and against Lebanese territory and sovereignty,” Hamas said, holding Israel “fully responsible for this heinous crime that targeted unarmed civilians.”

Another Israeli strike in south Lebanon killed at least one person and injured 11 others in the village of Tiri in the Bint Jbeil district on Wednesday morning.

Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement it signed with the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah in November 2024.

Last week, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri condemned Israel’s “systematic breaching” of the ceasefire agreement, saying that Lebanon has respected its commitments while Tel Aviv “continues its military assaults without restraint.”

Berri urged political factions to unite in the face of “unprecedented danger,” as he criticized the lack of national consensus in responding to Israeli attacks.

He also said that Hezbollah has the “legitimate right” to reorganize its internal structure in response to the recent Israeli strikes on the country.

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem also called on the Lebanese government to mobilize all state institutions and develop a comprehensive plan to confront the ongoing Israeli violations of Lebanese territory.

He said the resistance remains committed to its mission of expelling the occupying forces from the country.

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks since October 2023 have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country.

 
Source: Press TV