Eight dead, a new death toll from Ain al-Hilweh camp clashes in southern Lebanon

Two people were killed on Monday due to ongoing clashes in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, bringing the death toll to eight in three days, according to two medical sources to Agence France-Presse. 

Fierce clashes erupted on Saturday evening in Ain al-Hilweh, the largest and most densely populated Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, between members of Fatah and others belonging to extremist Islamic groups. Initially, a member of the Islamic groups was killed before a Fatah leader and four of his comrades were killed in a well-planned ambush on Sunday. 

Dr. Riad Abu Al-Einen, director of Al-Hamshari Hospital in Sidon, told AFP on Monday about the death of a young man (31 years old) due to injuries to his chest and abdomen during surgery, adding that 13 others were wounded, including one in critical condition. 

Similarly, Norma Mohsen, head nurse at Raee Hospital in Sidon, told AFP, "We received six injured and one deceased today." 

An agreement was reached on Sunday to halt the ceasefire, but it did not prevent limited clashes throughout the night, which intensified on Monday, according to an AFP correspondent in Sidon, where the camp is located. 

The official National News Agency reported an "increase in the intensity of clashes" that involve heavy weapons and are centered around the Emergency neighborhood, which is considered a stronghold for extremist Islamic groups. 

Representatives of Palestinian factions held two meetings in Beirut and Sidon on Monday with Lebanese political parties in an attempt to solidify the ceasefire. 

An official who participated in the ceasefire negotiations told AFP, "There are pressures to prevent any escalation, and things are expected to return to normal soon." 

On Monday morning, dozens of mainly women and children were seen carrying light luggage and leaving the camp through Lebanese Army checkpoints, according to an AFP correspondent. Dozens sought refuge at a nearby mosque during the past two days. 

A 75-year-old displaced woman, who declined to give her name, told AFP, "We fled from the battle area. Shells are falling in the streets; a shell may hit anyone who leaves their house." 

She added, "We carried weapons to fight against Israel, not to fight against each other and be displaced. We are originally displaced." 

Several shells fell outside the camp boundaries during the past two days. Likewise, a hospital adjacent to the camp evacuated its patients to other hospitals in Sidon, where some stores closed their doors due to escalation fears. 

Ain al-Hilweh camp is home to over 54,000 registered Palestinian refugees with the United Nations, and over the past years, thousands of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria have joined them. The camp is known for sheltering extremist Islamic groups and outlaws. 

The camp often witnesses assassinations and occasional clashes, particularly between Palestinian factions and extremist Islamic groups. 

Lebanese security forces do not enter the camps according to an agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Lebanese authorities, and the Palestinian factions take on a level of self-security within the camps. 

AFP