A deserted street in the Baraksat neighborhood, in Ain al-Hilweh. Archived photo by Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour
One person was killed and two others were injured during a shootout in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, near Saida in southern Lebanon, a security source told our correspondent. The incident reportedly began with a dispute that escalated into violence.
Mustapha Daoudi, who was seriously injured, was evacuated from the camp for medical care but later succumbed to his injuries. According to a Palestinian source, Daoudi was not involved in the dispute between two families that triggered the shooting. He was simply at the scene when the violence erupted. Newly married, he was the father of a 3-month-old daughter.
Ain al-Hilweh, home to about 80,000 Palestinian refugees, has frequently been the site of clashes stemming from personal disputes and tensions among various Palestinian factions. In Aug. 2023, a wave of violent clashes between the Fateh movement, aligned with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Islamist groups such as Jund al-Sham and al-Shabab al-Moslem, left at least 30 people killed.