Israeli Airstrike on Lebanon Camp Kills 13, Ignites Fresh Tensions

A fresh wave of tension swept across the Middle East on Tuesday after an Israeli drone strike hit the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, killing 13 people and injuring several others. The attack, described by Lebanese authorities as the deadliest strike on Lebanon since last year’s ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, has triggered widespread alarm about yet another potential escalation.

According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, the strike hit a car parked in the courtyard of a mosque inside the sprawling refugee camp near Sidon. Ambulances rushed to the area as residents scrambled to evacuate the wounded. Journalists attempting to access the site were blocked by Hamas fighters, who cordoned off the area during rescue efforts.

The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it targeted a Hamas training compound allegedly used to prepare attacks against Israeli forces. “The army will continue to operate against Hamas wherever the group works,” the military said in its statement.

Hamas, however, issued a sharp denial, claiming the location struck was a simple sports playground and accusing Israel of hitting civilians under the guise of counterterrorism. The contradictory claims have only added to the confusion and rising anger within Lebanon’s already strained political climate.

A Deadly Pattern of Targeted Strikes

The attack is the latest in a series of Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past two years that have killed key officials from Hezbollah and Palestinian factions, including Hamas. One of the highest-profile incidents was the killing of Saleh Arouri, Hamas’ deputy political chief, in a drone strike near Beirut on January 2, 2024. Several other Hamas leaders have been assassinated in similar operations since.

These strikes form part of a broader conflict that reignited after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people. Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza left tens of thousands dead, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and opened new fronts across the region.

War That Never Truly Ended

A day after the Gaza war began, Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel, triggering heavy Israeli shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon. What began as localized exchanges escalated into a full-blown conflict by September 2024. By the time a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect in late November, more than 4,000 people in Lebanon had been killed—hundreds of them civilians—and the country had suffered an estimated $11 billion in destruction, according to the World Bank.

Israel lost 127 people during the conflict, including 80 soldiers.

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli strikes have continued, with Israel insisting that Hezbollah is rebuilding its military infrastructure along the border. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports that more than 270 people have been killed and around 850 wounded in post-ceasefire Israeli military actions.

Fears of a Wider Conflict Grow

Tuesday’s strike has renewed concerns that the fragile calm along the Israel-Lebanon border may collapse once again. The death toll—one of the highest since the ceasefire—has drawn immediate condemnation from Lebanese officials and humanitarian groups, who warned that continued attacks on densely populated refugee camps risk dragging the region back into large-scale war.

The Ein el-Hilweh camp, Lebanon’s largest Palestinian settlement, has long been a flashpoint due to the presence of multiple armed factions. Any flare-up there often sends shockwaves across the country.

As families mourn their loved ones and rescue teams continue to assess the damage, regional leaders are once again urging restraint. But with Hamas and Hezbollah both vowing retaliation, and Israel maintaining its stance of striking “wherever threats emerge,” the path ahead appears increasingly uncertain.

For now, the deadly blast in Sidon serves as yet another reminder that even after ceasefires, the scars of conflict remain dangerously close to reopening.