Israel launched an airstrike on a densely populated Palestinian refugee camp Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon late Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and wounding nearly 70 more, according to Lebanese Health Ministry.
Paramedics and people rushed to the site of an Israeli strike located in a crowded area between mosque and football pitch in the refugee camp, for a search and rescue efforts.
The Israeli military said, without providing any evidence, that the strike targeted a Hamas "military compound" allegedly used for training fighters.
Names of the martyrs of the Ain al-Hilweh massacre. Date, November 18, 2025:
1- Martyr Muhammad Khalil
2- Martyr Ahmad Othman
3- Martyr Jihad al-Sidawi
4- Martyr Amjad Khashan
5- Martyr Bilal al-Natour
6-Martyr Youssef Shamma
7- Martyr Ali Ibrahim
8- Martyr Hussein al-Shouli
9- Martyr Obaida Ghoutani
10- Martyr Mustafa Ghoutani
11- Martyr Daniel Ghoutani
12- Martyr Mahmoud Muhammad
12- Martyr Ali Hamad
Meanwhile, Hamas condemned the attack and dismissed Israel's claim as "pure fabrication and lies", saying there are no military installations inside any refugee camps in Lebanon, and that the area hit was a well-known open sports field regularly used by young men from the camp.
Local Lebanese media reported that the attack targeted an area near a mosque and a football field in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp on the outskirts of the city of Sidon, which was packed with civilians. Hospitals in in the city Saida where large number of injuries (early estimate 70 injuries) were taken were asking local people to donate blood.
Ain al-Hilweh is the largest of 12 Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It houses a population of nearly 80,000 people who live in an area of just 1.5 sq. km.
Palestinians described the attack as a "massacre," with footage shared online showing civilians and rescue teams carrying bodies and remains of those killed in the blast. In one clip, the scattered remains of victims lay on a stretcher in a crowded street. My wife and I were born in Ain Al-Hilweh. After the strike, my wife talked to one of the female schoolteachers in the camp, who told her "I lost four of my former and current students in the massacre, and I am so crushed and week to attend their memorial services. I would have to pay my respect to their loved ones later."
Continued Israeli violations
Several Israeli drone strikes were reported in Lebanon on same day, marking the latest violation of a ceasefire that has been in place since November 2024.
Prior to airstrike on the camp, two Lebanese citizens were killed in separate strikes carried out by Israeli drones in the towns of Blida and Bint Jbeil, south Lebanon.
The last Israeli attacked on Ain al-Helwi was in Oct. 2024, when an Israeli airstrike targeted the home of Al Aqsa brigade Commander Gen. Munir Makdah. He survived but his son Hassan and his daughter-in-law Nazmieh did not.
The ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah took effect on 27 November last year, after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France.
The agreement, which comprises 13 points, stipulated Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, enabling civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes.
However, Israel has repeatedly violated the agreement, carrying out some 500 air strikes since then and killing over 108 people, according to UN experts. The Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed over 4,000 people over the past two years, according to Middle East Eye story from Nov. 18, 2025.
Those renewed Israeli violation of the ceasefire is meant to pressure Lebanon disarm Hezbollah and kick out half million Palestinians out of Lebanon, which is the largest concentration of Palestinian refugees outside Palestine. Above all, Israel is trying to force Lebanon to enter diplomatic talks in order to recognize the shithole in the Middle East.
With that said, the Israeli airstrike on Ain al-Hilweh could have been intended to strike a soccer practice that included someone who had made comments criticizing Israel's conduct in Gaza and so it qualified in the eyes of the IDF as a Hamas sympathizer. And practicing a sport is a form of training so there we have a Hamas training camp.
Mahmoud El-Youseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes on U.S. foreign policy, Middle East affairs, and justice. Email: elyousseph6@yahoo.com
