As the Lebanese army continues to pound Fatah al-Islam positions at the Nahr el Bared refugee camp, fighting also broke out June 3 with a second Islamist faction, Jund al-Sham, at Ein al-Helweh, Lebanon's largest refugee camp. Mediators from other Palestinian groups are attempting to negotiate a ceasefire at Ein al-Helweh.

Artillery shelling against the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon resumed on Friday, as fighting broke out between the army and Fatah al-Islam fighters. As tanks surrounded the camp, artillery struck the north and north-west entrances of the camp, gearing-up for a potential ground offensive to draw the 13-day standoff to a close. At least 12 people have been killed within the camp, along with two Lebanese soldiers. [AlJazeera, June 1]

From the Chinese news agency, Xinhua, June 1:

Israeli army fire kills two children in northern Gaza

GAZA -- Israeli soldiers stationed in northern Gaza Strip shot dead on Friday afternoon two Palestinian children, paramedics and eyewitnesses said.

The United States has sped up its commitment of military aid to the Lebanese army. Three out of a proposed eight military supply planes have arrived in Beirut thus far. The steps are designed to bolster efforts to dislodge Fatah al-Islam combatants from the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. [AlJazeera, May 25]

Israeli fighter jets carried out an air strike in close proximity to the Gaza residence of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya on [May 24], yet Israeli officials have insisted that Haniya was not the intended target. Another strike leveled the premises of the Hamas-linked Executive Force paramilitary group, injuring five bystanders. [AlJazeera, May 24]

Fighting has resumed at Lebanon's Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, where authorities are demanding that Fatah al-Islam lay down arms and turn over its leaders. Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said the group has two choices: "Surrender or the army will take the military option." Lebanese officials said the navy had sunk two boats carrying fighters escaping from Nahr al-Bared. (AlJazeera, May 24) Sixteen people were wounded in a bomb blast at a popular mountain resort in the Druze town of Aley—the third terrorist bombing in Lebanon in a week. (Press TV, Iran, May 24)

Thirty-three senior Hamas officials have been arrested by the Israel Defence Force (IDF). Among those detained were legislators, mayors and even the Education Minister, Nasser Shaer. [Haaretz, May 24]. Overnight, Israeli Air Force fighter jets targeted Palestinian money exchanges accused of passing monies from Iran, Lebanon and Syria into the arming and training of Hamas militants, the IDF has said. In an earlier incident, IDF fire is reported to have killed a local farmer in the Gaza Strip. [Haaretz, May 24] Palestinian militants have rejected calls for a ceasefire with both Israel and between the rival factions in the Gaza Strip. [BBC, May 24]

Syria distanced itself May 22 from the Islamist militants battling Lebanese army troops for control of Tripoli's Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. "We renounce Fatah al-Islam," said Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. "Members of the group are wanted by the Syrian security services. This group serves neither the Palestinian cause nor the interests of the Palestinian people." The group's Palestinian leader Shaker al-Abssi slipped into Lebanon last year after serving three years in a Syrian prison. Lebanese officials accuse Damascus of backing Fatah al-Islam to stir up trouble in Lebanon. Said MP Walid Jumblatt: "The Nahr al-Bared camp is hostage to Fatah al-Islam, which is a terrorist gang that has been exported towards us from Syria."