SIDON, Lebanon -- An "immediate and lasting cease-fire" was declared Monday after a top Lebanese general met with officials from rival Palestinian factions, following days of fighting in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp that left several people dead and dozens wounded.
It was the latest in a series of cease-fires that only lasted for hours before fighting broke out again. It was not clear if this truce will hold and whether rival groups will abide by it.
The General Security Directorate made the announcement in Beirut.
Gunfire and explosions were heard throughout the day inside the Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp, claiming the life of one person. Stray bullets and shells hit residential areas in the country's third-largest city.
The fighting that broke out Thursday night after nearly a month of calm in the Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp near the port city of Sidon between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group and militant Islamist groups has left six people dead and more than 50 wounded, according to medical officials and state media.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, shared its own tally on Sunday saying four people were killed and 60 others wounded.
Clashes erupted as Fatah and other allied militant factions in the camp intended to crack down on suspects accused of killing Fatah military general, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, in the camp in late July.
One of the men suspected of being involved in Armoushi's killing, Izzedine Abu Dawoud, was critically wounded Monday inside the camp and rushed to a hospital where doctors announced him as "clinically dead," Lebanese security officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Stray bullets hit the municipality building in Sidon, damaging windows without hurting anyone, the state-run National News Agency said.
The public Lebanese University was closed; the Lebanese Army closed off the main highway that links Beirut with southern Lebanon near the camp, and traffic was directed toward a coastal road because of the fighting.
"The city is suffering. The civilians in the camp are suffering," Abdul-Rahman Bizri, Lebanese legislator who represents Sidon, said in an interview with The Associated Press. He added that the fighting may continue for the coming days with "no clear winner or loser ... because the balance of power in the camp is very difficult and delicate."
The Lebanese military said Sunday night that five soldiers were wounded after three shells hit an army checkpoint surrounding the camp, with one in critical condition.
"We will not stand idle with what is happening in Ein al-Hilweh," warned Maj. Gen. Elias al-Baysari, head of the General Security Directorate, in an interview with a local newspaper published Monday. "The situation in the camp is unbearable," he said.
Al-Baysari later Monday hosted a meeting at his office in Beirut that included officials from several Palestinian factions to discuss the possibility of a new truce. After the meeting ended, the cease-fire was declared, as well as a call to hand over the suspects in Armoushi's killing to Lebanese authorities. The statement by the General Security Directorate gave no further details.
Two of the combating groups Sunday said they would abide by a cease-fire, though Fatah did not officially respond to those claims. It was unclear if a decision was reached during the meeting.
Ein al-Hilweh -- home to some 55,000 people according to the United Nations -- is notorious for its lawlessness, and violence is not uncommon in the camp. It was established in 1948 to house Palestinians who were displaced when Israel was established.
UNRWA said hundreds of families displaced from the camp have taken shelter in nearby mosques, schools and the Sidon municipality building.
Earlier this summer, street battles in the Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp between Fatah and members of the extremist Jund al-Sham group and Shabab al-Muslim lasted for several days, leaving 13 people dead and dozens wounded, and ended after an uneasy truce was put in place on Aug. 3. The fighting also forced hundreds to flee their homes.
Lebanon is home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Many live in the 12 refugee camps that are scattered around the small, Mediterranean country.
Information for this article was contributed by Bassem Mroue of The Associated Press.
Fighters from the Palestinian Fatah group take position during clashes with Islamist militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Islamist factions in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp said Sunday they will abide by a cease-fire after three days of clashes killed at least five people and left hundreds of families displaced. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises during clashes between members of the Palestinian Fatah group and Islamist militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Islamist factions in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp said Sunday they will abide by a cease-fire after three days of clashes killed at least five people and left hundreds of families displaced. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Palestinian Red Crescent workers treat Palestinian Sabine al-Ahmed who injured during clashes between members of the Palestinian Fatah group and Islamist militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Islamist factions in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp said Sunday they will abide by a cease-fire after three days of clashes killed at least five people and left hundreds of families displaced. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Palestinian residents who fled their home to a mosque, sit on the ground after clashes that erupted between members of the Palestinian Fatah group and Islamist militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Islamist factions in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp said Sunday they will abide by a cease-fire after three days of clashes killed at least five people and left hundreds of families displaced. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Palestinian residents who fled their home to a mosque, sit on the ground after clashes that erupted between members of the Palestinian Fatah group and Islamist militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Islamist factions in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp said Sunday they will abide by a cease-fire after three days of clashes killed at least five people and left hundreds of families displaced. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)