Explosions in Palestinian camp in Lebanon cause casualties

Several explosions shook a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Friday night, residents said, adding that the nature of the blasts was not immediately clear. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said there were casualties. 

A Palestinian source inside the camp said at least 12 people had been injured and there were an unknown number of fatalities.

Ambulances rushed to the scene in the Burj Shamali camp in the port city of Tyre, camp residents told The Associated Press, speaking over the phone.

Initial reports said a fire had started in a diesel tanker and spread to a nearby mosque controlled by the Palestinian militant Hamas group. The fire triggered explosions of some weapons that appeared to have been stored inside the mosque, according to the residents.

The NNA said the army cordoned off the area, preventing people from entering or leaving the camp. The reports aid some arms belonging to Hamas had exploded inside an Islamic centre. There were no further details.

Lebanon is home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their decedents. Many live in the 12 refugee camps that are scattered around the small Mediterranean country.

Videos from the scene shared by local media show a number of small bright red flashes above the southern city, followed by a large explosion and the sound of glass breaking.

A number of armed Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Fatah Movement, hold effective control over roughly a dozen Palestinian camps in the country, which Lebanese authorities by custom do not enter