Hamas accuses rival Fatah of deadly shooting in Lebanon camp

Hamas officials have buried three of their members who were killed by gunfire in a tense Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon days earlier

SIDON, Lebanon -- Hamas officials buried three of their members Tuesday who were killed by gunfire in a tense Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon days earlier. The militant group accused members of a rival faction of the deadly shooting.

Ayman Shanaa, an official with the militant group, told mourners that Fatah militia members were behind the shootings, which he called a “heinous and cowardly crime."

There are tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants in Lebanon, most living in refugee camps. Fatah is the political faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas rules the Gaza Strip.

Fatah called the accusations “arbitrary and misleading." In a statement, the group accused Hamas of inciting against its members in Lebanon before investigation into the violence is concluded.