Hamas denies ‘Israeli’ claims of training camp in Lebanon

• Hamas condemned the ‘Israeli’ strike on the Ain al-Helweh camp as a "barbaric aggression" and a continuation of attacks on the Palestinian and Lebanese people and sovereignty.
• Hamas strongly denied ‘Israel's’ claim that the target was a "training compound," asserting the strike hit an open sports field where several juveniles were present.

Hamas issued a statement condemning the ‘Israeli’ aggression that targeted the Ain al-Helweh refugee camp overnight, resulting in a "horrific massacre" that killed and wounded several civilians.

Lebanon said an ‘Israeli’ strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in the country's south killed at least 13 people on Tuesday in an updated toll, as ‘Israel’ claimed it struck a Hamas compound.

Denial of ‘Israeli’ Claims

Hamas strongly denied the claims made by the ‘Israeli’ military that the targeted location was a "training compound belonging to the movement," labeling the assertion as pure falsehood intended to justify a criminal act and incitement against the camps and the Palestinian people.

Hamas stated that there are no military installations in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

Hamas confirmed that the location targeted was an "open sports field" frequented by juveniles from the camp.

It asserted that those targeted were a group of young men who were present on the field at the moment of the strike.

‘Israel’ has kept up strikes on Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreed last November that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah -- an ally of Hamas -- including two months of full-blown war.

In an updated toll, the health ministry reported "13 dead and a number of others wounded" in the strike in the Ain al-Helweh refugee camp on the outskirts of the city of Sidon, adding that "ambulances are still transporting more wounded to nearby hospitals".

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strike targeted a car near the Khalid bin al-Walid mosque and that "subsequently it was reported that the raid also targeted" the mosque itself and a centre of the same name.

The ‘Israeli’ military claimed in a statement that it "struck terrorists who operated in a Hamas training compound in the Ain al-Helweh area in southern Lebanon", further claiming that it was "operating against Hamas's establishment in Lebanon".