Sidon Massacre: Hamas Denounces ‘Israeli’ Strike, Calls Claims Fabrication
By Staff, Agencies
A new massacre by "Israeli" forces has claimed the lives of 13 civilians in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon, southern Lebanon, marking grave escalation and a blatant breach of the November 2024 ceasefire deal.
An airstrike reportedly targeted a parking lot in the densely populated camp, causing a significant number of casualties. The Lebanese Ministry of Health updated the death toll to 13 martyrs as of Tuesday evening, with the number expected to be finalized following ongoing assessments.
This marks the first assault of its kind on the camp since the so-called ceasefire took effect last year. It also comes as Beirut continues to fully comply with the ceasefire’s provisions, while the "Israeli" occupation persists in its attacks across southern Lebanon with absolute impunity.
Hamas issued a strongly worded statement condemning the attack as “a brutal assault on our unarmed Palestinian people and on Lebanese sovereignty.” The movement stressed that the strike hit an open sports field known to residents and frequented by young teenagers at the time of the attack.
Responding to the "Israeli" occupation’s claims that the target was a “training compound,” Hamas rejected the allegations as “fabrication and lies aimed at justifying its criminal aggression and inciting hostility toward the camps and our Palestinian people.”
The movement asserted that “there are no military installations in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.”
Hamas declared that the "Israeli" occupation bears “full responsibility for this heinous crime against our Palestinian people and against the sisterly Lebanese state,” extending condolences to the families of the martyrs and wishing a swift recovery to the wounded. The statement honored those martyred, saying it prays for “patience and comfort for their families” and healing for those injured.
The strike on Ain al-Hilweh is the third attack on Lebanon on the same day. Earlier on Tuesday, two drone strikes targeted vehicles in Blida and Bint Jbeil, claiming two civilians in total. This raises the civilian death toll on November 18, 2025, to 15 martyred by the "Israeli" occupation in a single day.
The latest assault deepens concerns that the "Israeli" occupation is systematically undermining the ceasefire framework through deliberate escalation against civilian areas on Lebanese territory.
Over the past few days alone, "Israeli" forces have carried out a series of attacks across southern and eastern Lebanon.
"Israeli" attacks across Lebanon in mid-November included the killing of Mohammad Shuweikh, principal of Mansouri Public School, in an airstrike on the town of Mansouri; a Merkava tank firing toward UNIFIL personnel near an "Israeli"-built position inside Lebanese territory; multiple drone and air raids in Toul, Tayr Felsay, and the Bekaa’s Shaara Heights and Janta; and a drone strike on the al-Baysariyeh highway that reportedly left one person martyred.
