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Jamaa Islamiya denies operating a training camp in Aley

Sunday 27 July 2025 - 15:00

The Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanese Sunni political group affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and aligned with Hamas, has firmly denied recent media allegations claiming it operates a military training camp in Aley, a mountainous region south of Beirut.

The denial follows a report by the Saudi-linked newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, which cited a judicial source claiming that both Hamas and Jamaa Islamiya maintained a joint training facility in Aley. The same report mentioned that several arrests had been made three weeks prior in the Aïtat area of Aley, where individuals allegedly linked to Hamas and Jamaa Islamiya’s military wing, Al-Fajr Forces, were found in possession of weapons. However, the Lebanese Army, while confirming the arrests, denied that a jihadist cell had been uncovered and did not identify the detainees' affiliations.

In a statement released on Saturday evening, Jamaa Islamiya asserted:

“We confirm to the Lebanese public that our group does not operate any armed training camps anywhere in Lebanon and has no intention of doing so. We remain committed to civil peace and national stability and reaffirm our cooperation with the relevant Lebanese authorities to strengthen this stability.”

The group also stressed it does not wish to give Israel any pretext to continue its aggression against Lebanon and reiterated its support for a national defense strategy in line with the Lebanese President's vision for national security.

Al-Fajr Brigades, the military wing of Jamaa Islamiya, previously claimed responsibility for several military operations in southern Lebanon during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on October 8, 2023, in response to the war in Gaza. Several of the group's fighters were killed in Israeli airstrikes, both during the 13-month conflict and after the ceasefire that came into effect on November 27, 2024.