The camp’s inhabitants originally came in 1948, mostly from coastal Palestinian towns. The camp also hosts a large number of Palestine Refugees displaced from other parts of Lebanon, particularly from Tripoli, who came to Ein El Hilweh during the Lebanese civil war and in the aftermath of the Nahr el-Bared conflict in 2007. The ongoing Syria crisis has also led to the additional presence of Syrian refugees and Palestine Refugees from Syria (PRS) in the camp.

Security and governance in the camp are the responsibility of Popular Committees and Palestinian Factions. The camp is surrounded by a wall and access for people and building materials is controlled by the Lebanese Armed Forces through checkpoints. 

Last updated July 2023.