WATCH: Multiple deaths caused by an explosion at a Hamas weapons cache inside a Palestinian camp near the Lebanese port city of Tyre.
– This is an ongoing story.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, REUTERS

A large explosion rocked a Palestinian camp in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre on Friday night causing a number of deaths and injuries, state media reported.

The explosion took place at a Hamas weapons depot and a judge had ordered security forces to launch an investigation, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Videos circulating on Lebanese social media showing what is thought to be a massive explosion of a Hamas weapons depot near Tyre. pic.twitter.com/4pZ7NuTqZF

— Sunniva Rose (@Sunniva_Rose) December 10, 2021

Hamas maintains a presence in a number of Palestinian camps in Lebanon.

A security source confirmed the explosion but did not provide further details, while a Palestinian source inside the camp said there may be casualties but numbers remained unclear.

The surrounding area had been evacuated and rescue crews had deployed, the Palestinian source said.

PM Netanyahu during UN address reveals Hezbollah weapons depot near Beirut Airport – Screenshot: YouTube, PMO

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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.

View original The Jerusalem Post publication at:
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/explosions-heard-in-lebanon-injuries-reported-688434

UPDATE: Reported by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, a fire had started by a diesel tanker and spread to a nearby mosque controlled by the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.

The fire then triggered the explosions of weapons and/or munitions that were stored inside the mosque, according to the camp’s residents.

דיווח בלבנון: פיצוץ גדול אירע במחסן באזור צור שבדרום המדינה. לפי חלק מהדיווחים, הפיצוץ נגרם לאחר ששריפה פרצה במחסן נשק השייך לאחד הפלגים הפלסטיניים@coren_ido pic.twitter.com/65shsTzp5e

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 10, 2021

The storing of rockets, weapons and other munitions are commonly stored by Islamic militant groups in civilian neighborhoods, using their mosques, hospitals and schools.

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