UNRWA Situation Report #9 on the situation in Ein el Hilweh, Lebanon

Camp information

• UNRWA provides services to over 38,000 registered Palestine Refugees in Ein el Hilweh camp.

• Eight UNRWA schools in the camp have 5,900 registered students.

• Two UNRWA health centres provide primary health care including reproductive health, infant and child-care, immunizations, screening and medical check-ups and treatment.

Overview

Intense clashes erupted again inside Ein el Hilweh camp on the afternoon of Wednesday 13 September, sparking the renewed displacement of camp residents. This followed a meeting in Beirut on the evening of Tuesday 12 September between high-level representatives of the Fatah movement and Hamas that saw the sides affirm their support for a ceasefire in the camp. This had led to a night of relative calm. However, the ceasefire collapsed on 13 September as fighting broke out across multiple flashpoint neighbourhoods in the camp, including Hittin, Baraksat, Tawariq, Taamir, Safsaf, Ras al Ahmar, Tiri and Jabal Halib. In addition, some fighting was also reported in the Saffouri sector, which had not previously been heavily affected by clashes. Machinegun fire and the use of heavy weapons – including the first reported use of flare-bombs in this fighting – was reported across these areas, and particularly heavy destruction was reported in the Hittin sector in the south of the camp.

Shells and bullets continued to fall outside the camp, with a shell reportedly landing near a barracks of the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Media reported that seven armed individuals were killed in fighting on 13 September. At least eighteen people are reported to have been killed and 140 injured since the beginning of the clashes on 7 September.
Large numbers of camp residents were reported to have fled their homes as a result of the renewed fighting.
Four designated emergency shelters to accommodate internally displaced persons (IDPs) continue to operate in UNRWA installations. These are nearing their full capacity of 1,000 people across the four locations:

• Nablus School (Saida), which is currently accommodating 268 people and is being managed in conjunction with Naba’a.

• Siblin Training Centre (Siblin), which is currently accommodating 254 individuals and is being managed in conjunction with Al Jana.

• Bir Zeit School (Siblin), which is currently accommodating 190 individuals and is being managed in conjunction with Tadamon.