Destruction inside a school in the Palestinian camp of Ain al-Hilweh, on Aug. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mohamad Yassin/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — A hand grenade was thrown Tuesday night near an UNWRA schoolyard in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Saida, sources inside the camp told L'Orient-Le Jour, adding that no casualties connected to the incident had been reported.
After the grenade was thrown, a source from the Fatah Palestinian faction accused the Islamist group Jund al-Sham of breaking the agreed cease-fire and launching the grenade, while Jund al-Sham supporters said Fatah itself was responsible for the attack.
In late July, dayslong clashes between these two groups in the camp killed 13 people before a cease-fire was agreed upon.
Since then, the situation has been tense, with fighters from both sides still positioned on the front line, notably occupying schools and facilities run by UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
Last month's fighting erupted with the killing of Fatah official Abu Ahmed al-Armoushi and four of his bodyguards. Several days of gun and RPG fire ensued, killing at least eight other people, injuring dozens and leaving hundreds of families still displaced.
Armoushi’s successor, Abu Ayad al-Chaalan, earlier this month accused Islamist militant and alleged Islamic State affiliate Bilal Badr of killing the late Fatah official.
On Tuesday, representatives of Palestinian political factions called for those allegedly involved in the deadly Ain al-Hilweh clashes to be handed over to authorities.
Reporting contributed by Muntasser Abdallah