25 October 2023 

Saida, Lebanon – Hostilities between Israel and Hamas in Gaza are threatening to spill over into Lebanon, raising fears in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp for Palestinians that residents still recovering from earlier unrest could once again see their lives upended.

Palestinian factions in the camp, located in southern Lebanon close to the city of Saida, clashed in July, uprooting at least 4,000 people from their homes. The clashes came after the Fatah party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas – the most powerful political force in the camp – accused Palestinian militant groups of killing one of its military generals: Mohammad “Abu Ashraf” al-Armoushi.

Another round of fighting erupted in September after these militant groups refused to hand over the general’s accused killers. More than 30 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the worst violence Ein el-Hilweh has seen in decades.

Ein el-Hilweh is home to nearly 60,000 people – mostly Palestinians, some Syrians, and a few other nationalities – according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). It is the largest of the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

Children in Ein el-Hilweh have suffered from the recent violence – some 11,000 students in south Lebanon were unable to start school on 2 October. Classes have been frequently disrupted, leaving many students behind. Children in the camp show signs of anxiety and other behavioural issues, including acting out aggressively, according to Raed Hamadeh, a teacher from Ein el-Hilweh who has worked for over 20 years in various UNRWA schools.

“It’s like we’re in a big prison, surrounded by guns and violence,” he told The New Humanitarian.