Palestinian factions have begun handing over weapons from Lebanon’s largest refugee camp, AFP reports quoting a Palestinian official, as part of a push by the Lebanese government to disarm non-state groups.

Abdel Hadi al-Asadi, of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), said the umbrella group conducted “the operation of delivering new batches of weapons”.

Five truckloads of weapons were handed over in the southern Ain al-Hilweh camp, the largest in the country, and three more from the northern Beddawi camp, he said. An AFP journalist in the area reported Lebanese army vehicles posted around the camp, preventing anyone from approaching.

The densely-populated Beddawi camp, near the northern city of Tripoli, was hit last year by Israeli strikes that killed a Hamas commander, his wife and two daughters, according to the Palestinian militant group.