Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon Hold Strike Marking Gaza War Anniversary

Beirut, MINA – Palestinian groups and grassroots movements in the Nahr al-Bared and Beddawi refugee camps in northern Lebanon announced a strike on Wednesday that included the closure of schools and educational institutions run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), marking the third anniversary of the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Information Center reports.

Organizers said the action was intended to reaffirm the connection of Palestinian refugees in the diaspora to their national cause and demonstrate their solidarity with Gaza and its people. The strike was limited to the Nahr al-Bared and Beddawi camps and was called by the Palestinian Youth Gathering, alongside local grassroots movements and activists. Other Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon did not participate.

Organizers called for October 7 to be observed as a national occasion to remember Palestinians killed and wounded and the sacrifices made by the Palestinian people, while educating younger generations about the Palestinian cause and the right of return.

In Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, Mohammed Abu al-Qassem, an activist with the Unified Movement, said activists and grassroots groups had decided to consider October 7 “a day off, not a day of strike” because of what the date represents for Palestinians nationally and historically. Abu al-Qassem said the action was intended to emphasize that Palestinians in the diaspora remain an integral part of the Palestinian cause and that events in Palestine and the Gaza Strip directly concern them. He said the initiative also honors the sacrifices of Palestinians killed during the war, resistance fighters, children and women.

Abu al-Qassem added that activists had hoped schools and educational institutions could become spaces for educating students about the Palestinian cause and discussing the anniversary of October 7. However, he said restrictions prevent national issues and Palestinian resistance from being addressed inside educational institutions. He also criticized the absence of official events organized by Palestinian factions in the refugee camps to commemorate the anniversary.

Abu al-Qassem said the strike carries a clear message that Palestinians in their homeland and in the diaspora are “one people with one cause,” and that the sacrifices made by Palestinians in Gaza and throughout Palestine also represent Palestinians living in refugee camps and across the diaspora.

Grassroots groups and activists in Nahr al-Bared announced Tuesday that a general strike would take place at UNRWA institutions throughout the camp, with sanitation services and the camp clinic exempted from the closure. Their statement called October 7 a “historic day” and a “sacred day for the Palestinian people,” linking the action to the sacrifices made by Palestinians in Gaza and to honoring those killed and wounded and the families of victims. The statement also reaffirmed the continuing attachment of Palestinian refugees in the camps to their national cause and their commitment to confronting the Israeli occupation.

In Beddawi refugee camp, the Palestinian Youth Gathering announced a general strike at all UNRWA schools under the banner of honoring Gaza and its victims. The group called on families in the camp to spend the day speaking with their children about Palestinians killed during the struggle, Palestinian leaders and people from the refugee camps who gave their lives for Palestine. It stressed that passing Palestinian memory and the Palestinian narrative to younger generations is an essential part of protecting national identity and maintaining Palestinians’ connection to their homeland. The statement reaffirmed that the “right of return is permanent and cannot be erased” and that Palestine would remain a responsibility passed from one generation to the next.

Addressing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the group said refugees in Lebanon stood beside them “in word and position” and rejected allowing images of their suffering to become normalized or treated as an ordinary reality.

The actions in Palestinian refugee camps in northern Lebanon came on the third anniversary of the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, as the humanitarian consequences of the war continue to weigh heavily on Palestinians in Gaza.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 74,250 Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza genocide began, while 175,278 have been wounded, in addition to thousands who remain missing beneath the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings. The ministry said 1,467 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025 and another 5,161 have been wounded. The bodies of 836 Palestinians have also been recovered since the ceasefire began.[]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)