Following is an excerpt from UNRWA Situation Report #9 on the situation in Ein El Hilweh
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. S
hells 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.
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.
* This figure does not claim to represent the actual number of Palestine Refugees present in the camp. but merely the number of Palestine Refugees registered with UNRWA in the camp.
- Beit Jala School (Siblin), which is currently accommodating 185 people and is being managed in conjunction with Tadamon. In addition to the UNRWA designated emergency shelters, IDPs have sought shelter at a number of gathering points across the Saida area, with many new families arriving following the renewed clashes of 13 September.
Médecins sans Frontières has assumed responsibility for the management of non-UNRWA gathering points. These locations included:
- Al Musali mosque on the northern side of the camp, which is hosting approximately 120 people. - Two buildings in the Fawar area of Saida, in which hundreds are reported to be sheltering. - A warehouse in Talaat al Mohafiz, which is reportedly hosting approximately 320 people.
- Multiple buildings in Hlaliye that are accommodating approximately 240 people.
- Additional IDPs reportedly gathered in Bab Serai square. Some IDPs who had been sheltering at informal cluster points have also been relocated to UNRWA designated emergency shelters. Large numbers of displaced persons are also understood to be staying with relatives in homes across the Saida area, while some have reportedly relocated to other Palestine refugee camps and areas throughout Lebanon.
1500 displaced families are estimated to be staying in private homes in the Sirop area.
The Saida municipality building, which had been sheltering approximately 180 IDPs, is now empty after the relocation of IDPs to Beit Jala School emergency shelter on 12 and 13 September.
See full report, 14 September 2023
Photo: `Ayn al-Hilwah camp during clashes. Source: UNRWA.
| Themes |
| • Armed / ethnic conflict • Destruction of habitat • Displacement • Housing rights • Indigenous peoples • Local • Project management • Stateless • Temporary shelter |
