Fatah hands over last heavy weapons to Lebanese army in Ain al-Hilweh

The Palestinian faction Fatah has handed over its remaining stock of heavy weapons to the Lebanese army inside the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, marking a new milestone in a gradual disarmament process launched in mid-September, Lebanese and Palestinian officials said on Tuesday.

Deliveries began in the morning at Jabal al-Halib, a handover point between Palestinian National Security forces and the Lebanese army's checkpoint at the camp's perimeter near Saida.

By midday, Palestinian National Security forces said a fifth shipment of heavy weapons from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) had been transferred to the military.

In a statement, Abdelhadi al-Assadi, head of public relations for Palestinian National Security in Lebanon, said the move was carried out in line with a joint presidential declaration signed on 21 May 2025 by Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and reflected recommendations issued by the joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee tasked with improving conditions in the camps.

The Lebanese army confirmed receiving weapons from Ain al-Hilweh but did not specify the volume.

It said the materiel included "different types of military-grade weapons and ammunition”, which will be inspected and processed “according to established procedures".

A Palestinian security source told French language daily L'Orient–Le Jour the handover had followed instructions from Ramallah, describing the shipment as the equivalent of five truckloads of cannons, missiles, rocket launchers and shells.

The source noted that decisions on other categories of weapons would follow guidance from the Palestinian Authority’s political leadership.

According to Lebanese media reports, the delivery means Fatah has now relinquished all heavy weapons under its control in Lebanon. Other factions, including Hamas, continue to reject disarmament.

The moves come as Lebanon's government pursues a declared goal of restoring exclusive control over weapons on its territory, including in Palestinian camps and among domestic armed groups.

In early August, the government vowed to enforce the state's monopoly on arms and has since stepped up military operations to dismantle arsenals.

The army says operations to remove weapons south of the Litani River, an area where Hezbollah presence is restricted under UN resolutions, have left the zone "almost free of arms", according to recent comments from the military and officials close to Hezbollah.

The next stage would extend north of the Litani, though Hezbollah says it will not disarm while Israel continues incursions and occupation of Lebanese positions in the south.

This handover is the second from Ain al-Hilweh since September and the fifth from PLO factions across Lebanon.

Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon's largest Palestinian camp, has seen repeated bouts of violence between factions and remains a focal point in discussions on the future of weapons in the camps.

Lebanon, facing a historic economic collapse and persistent insecurity, has long debated how to integrate or disarm armed groups inside refugee camps, areas where the state's authority is limited under long-standing arrangements.