Several explosions rocked a Palestinian refugee camp in the Lebanese port city of Tyre on Friday night, according to residents who spoke to the Associated Press news agency by phone. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said there were an unspecified number of deaths from the blast.
The explosion occurred at a reported Hamas weapons depot, security sources told Reuters news agency, prompting ambulances to rush to the scene.
Rescue workers at the scene say the explosion injured around a dozen people, according to Reuters. Local media and civil defense workers also claim there were no fatalities.
Initial reports suggested the incident began with a fire in a diesel tanker before spreading to a nearby mosque controlled by Hamas.
Footage shared by local media showed a number of small, bright red flashes above the port city, followed by a blast and the sound of glass shattering.
What caused the explosions?
A number of Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Fatah, control Palestinian camps in the south of Lebanon. By custom, Lebanese state authorities do not enter these territories.
Beirut-based journalist Anchal Vohra told DW that Hamas does keep weapons in these camps, although the size of these weapons depots are unclear.
She added that this is one of the biggest Palestinian camps in the south of Lebanon, of which there are around a dozen. “It is one of the more congested camps of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon,” Vohra told DW.
Shehab News Agency, a Palestinian news outlet closely aligned with Hamas, reported that oxygen canisters used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic had been stored in the mosque that caught on fire.
jsi, sdi/msh, wd (Reuters, AP, dpa)
Explosions in Lebanon’s Tyre, near Palestinian refugee camp
Source: Pinoy Pop News
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