The Lebanese Army launched raids on Monday inside the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon in an effort to apprehend wanted individuals, resulting in exchanges of gunfire and raised tensions, sources from the camp told L'Orient Today.

According to a statement from Palestinian factions in the North, a shootout broke out between a "gang" and the army during the arrest of one of the suspects.

The Lebanese army has sealed off all entrances to the camp, prohibiting entry and exit, as operations continue to detain individuals suspected of different crimes. 

Reports indicate heightened tensions in the camp, with instances of resistance to the army raids prompting additional reinforcements to be deployed to arrest those responsible for the gunfire targeting the army in addition to the wanted individuals. 

Aircraft from the Lebanese Air Force were hovering above the camp during these operations. 

The Palestinian factions met earlier in the day to discuss the repercussions of these tensions and denounced, in their statement, "any attack against parties or institutions with which we want the best relations." They called for "the arrest of all pill, hashish and arms traffickers" and rejected any "protection" of these traffickers. However, the factions also called on the army "not to resort to collective punishment by closing" all accesses to the camp.

"We call for a return to normal life in the camp and demand that all ex-convicts be handed over to the army's intelligence services by their relatives, in order to avoid dissension."

The army was not immediately available to comment on the incident. 

A video shared on social media in which a woman is heard criticizing the Lebanese Army and assimilating its actions to the Israeli army has been proved to not be related to today's incident.  

The Nahr al-Bared camp has a long history of clashes with the Lebanese Army. In 2007, clashes erupted with the militant group Fatah al-Islam. The conflict escalated when the Lebanese Army conducted raids to apprehend suspects linked to the group, resulting in intense fighting characterized by gunfire and heavy shelling.

The clashes forced the army to impose a blockade on the camp, sealing off all access points and intensifying efforts to regain control. The confrontations led to significant casualties and widespread displacement among residents after the camp was destroyed in the clashes. It was partially reconstructed in 2018. 

According to UNRWA, since the 2007 clashes, Lebanese authorities have exercised a level of control in Nahr al-Bared camp unlike in the other refugee camps, where the army rarely even enters.