A large fire, followed by multiple explosions, has erupted at a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. The incident was reportedly centered at a weaponry stockpile allegedly belonging to the Hamas militant group.
The fire erupted at the Burj el-Shemali camp located just outside the southern Lebanese city of Tyre late on Friday. The camp is the second-largest settlement of 12 Palestinian refugee camps scattered across the country.
Unverified footage from the scene circulating online shows a building engulfed in flames, with a subsequent explosion sending a massive mushroom-shaped plume of smoke into the air. The shockwave apparently broke windows in buildings nearby as well.
Several smaller explosions were also heard during the blaze, another video from the scene purports to show.
The fire prompted an evacuation of nearby buildings, with multiple emergency crew deployed to battle the flames.
The building affected was reportedly housing a weaponry depot, run by Hamas. Several people were killed and injured as a result of the incident, the state-funded National News Agency reported, without giving an exact tally.
