Tensions in Ain al-Hilweh after killing of Fatah supporter by Islamists

SOUTH LEBANON — The bodyguard of the brother of Mounir Maqdah, head of Fatah’s armed wing in Lebanon, was assassinated late Sunday by Islamist militants in the Ain al-Hilweh camp, triggering heightened tensions in the area, according to our correspondent in the south.

According to sources inside the camp, individuals affiliated with Salafist groups opened fire on Imad Shehade, known as “al-Sarih,” who was the bodyguard of “Taous,” the brother of Mounir Maqdah, head of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah.

Clashes, exchanges of gunfire and grenade attacks were quickly reported in the camp, the most populated in Lebanon, after the murder, and tensions remain high. The various Palestinian factions are trying to contain the situation.

In August 2024, a month before the escalation and open war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, Khalil Maqdah, another brother of Mounir Maqdah, was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in Sidon.

Ain al-Hilweh is home to about 80,000 Palestinian refugees and the camp has regularly been the scene of clashes due to personal disputes and tensions among various Palestinian factions.

In August 2023, a wave of violent clashes between Fatah, which is close to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Islamist groups such as Jund al-Sham and al-Chabab al-Muslim, left at least 30 dead.

Reporting by our regional correspondent, Muntasser Abdallah.