Hamas says oxygen bottles not arms exploded in Lebanon camp

BEIRUT — The Palestinian Hamas radical said Saturday that explosions that shook a exile campy successful confederate Lebanon were caused by an electrical short-circuit successful a retention country for oxygen bottles utilized to dainty coronavirus patients.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency had reported that arms stored for Hamas exploded Friday successful the Burj Shamali campy sidesplitting and injuring a fig of people. A information authoritative besides said the explosions caused casualties but did not springiness a breakdown.

Hamas successful a connection Saturday described the explosions arsenic an “incident” adding that a occurrence successful the exile campy successful the confederate larboard metropolis of Tyre caused constricted damage. It gave nary connection connected casualties but residents successful the campy said astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic was killed.

Hamas said the oxygen bottles and containers of detergents stored astatine the campy were to beryllium distributed arsenic portion of its assistance enactment successful the camp.

“Hamas condemns the misleading media run and the dispersed of mendacious quality that accompanied the incident,” the militant radical said successful its statement. It added that reports astir the origin of the blast and the “deaths of dozens” are baseless.

Immediately aft the blasts, Lebanese troops deployed astir the campy and concisely prevented radical from entering oregon leaving.

NNA said the authorities authoritative successful confederate Lebanon has asked information agencies and arms experts to inspect the Hamas arms retention tract wrong the camp.

Lebanon is location to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Many unrecorded successful the 12 exile camps that are scattered astir the tiny Mediterranean country.