Israel bombs Lebanon refugee camp
Israel has bombed Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, killing at least one person and wounding three others.
The shelling late last night was the first time Israel attacked the camp since the fighting between the Jewish state and Hezbollah began more than four weeks ago.
Israeli gunboats fired two shells, one landing in the Ein el-Hilweh camp on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon, and the other slamming into the city’s amusement park, Lebanese and Palestinian officials said.
The Israeli military said the attack on the refugee camp was not from a gunboat but an air strike, targeting the house of a Hezbollah guerilla.
The officials said the casualties in Ein el-Hilweh were caused when the shell crashed into a location manned by the camp’s Fatah militia, headed by Mounier Makdah, who used to train guerillas in the camp.
Ein el-Hilweh is the largest of Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps and has witnessed years of bombings, assassinations and shootings as rival factions in the camp vie for control. The camp also is believed to be a hideout for many fugitives wanted by Lebanese authorities and is a haven for militant groups.
The Lebanese army does not enter the camp but maintains positions at the camp’s entrances to keep the guerillas in check.
The camp is home to about 75,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants who were displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Some 350,000 Palestinians live in refugee camps in Lebanon that have developed over the years into shanty towns.
