Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp, Nov.18, 2025. (Screenshot from a video provided by our correspondent)
An Israeli strike targeted the densely populated Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, on the outskirts of Saida, at around 9.30 p.m. on Tuesday night. According to a still-preliminary toll from the Lebanese Health Ministry, 14 people have been killed. The strike is one of Israel's deadliest since the cease-fire went into effect on Nov. 27, 2024.
Israel targeted a warehouse containing dormitories and offices in an area of Ain al-Hilweh near people playing football, according to our correspondent's sources.
There are still people trapped under the rubble, including five Hamas members, as the area targeted has a significant Hamas presence. Local rescue teams are still at work searching for people under the rubble and transporting bodies of dead and wounded to nearby hospitals.
The Ain al-Hilweh camp was hit during last year's war on Sept. 30, 2024, by deadly Israeli strikes targeting the house of Mounir Maqdah, head of Fatah’s armed wing, killing his son Hassan and several others.
The Makassed Philanthropic Islamic Association of Beirut said in a statement that it would close its schools tomorrow, Wednesday, as a sign of mourning for those killed on Tuesday night in the "unacceptable Israeli attack" on Ain al-Hilweh.
Several other schools are gradually announcing that they will do the same, according to our correspondent.
In a statement, Hamas condemned "the Zionist aggression that targeted a place crowded with civilians." "We consider it a barbaric attack against our defenseless Palestinian people and against Lebanese sovereignty," added the group.
Hamas further stated that "the allegations by the Zionist occupation army that the targeted site was a training complex belonging to the movement are pure fabrication and lies, aimed at justifying its criminal aggression." "There are no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon," Hamas emphasized.
The group specifies that the targeted location was "an open sports field frequented by young people from the camp, known to all residents, and that those targeted were a group of boys who were on the field at the time of the strike."
Earlier Tuesday, two people were killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. An Israeli army drone struck a car in Bint Jbeil in the morning, killing Ali Ibrahim Cheaito, an employee of the Federation of Municipalities of Bint Jbeil. Later in the day, an Israeli drone targeted a car in Blida (Marjayoun), killing its driver. The identity of the latter could not be immediately established.
Israel continues violating the cease-fire that went into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, almost daily with strikes and incursions into Lebanese territory. Its army still occupies at least six positions along the border.
