Metro’s foreign correspondent Gergana Krasteva reports from Lebanon

When Mahmoud Hashem witnessed two boys fighting in Shatila Refugee Camp, in Beirut’s southern suburbs – one of them threatening to stab the other with a knife – his only solution was to invite them over to his house for a game of chess.

Now, 15 years later, Metro travelled to Lebanon to follow the steps of that incident.

Shatila itself – and its reputation, shaped by history of massacres, scarce resources and exponential growth – have changed little since Mahmoud’s improbable, yet successful, attempt at preventing yet more bloodshed on its streets.

Once a temporary shelter for Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the camp has hardened into a permanent settlement and now houses more than 20,000 people – though some estimates go as high as 30,000 – in less than 1 square kilometre.

Soon after the car passes by Beirut’s Sports City Stadium, rows of concrete walls appear ahead.

Stepping inside the camp, a poster of Yasser Arafat overlooks the sagging rooftops of crumbling residential buildings, adorned with Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) flags.

Following Mamoud’s directions, I make my way through the market – this is the main artery of the camp – while dodging speeding scooters, vegetable vendors, and children running in sandals, cheerfully drinking fruit juice from pyramid-shaped cartons.

Several dusty alleyways later through the maze-like city within a city, a door behind an underpass opens, leading to a staircase.

On the third floor, Mahmoud, aged 57, is sitting behind a desk in his office, with a hookah slowly bubbling next to him.

He is now the director of the Palestinian Chess Forum, an educational club for dozens of children who might otherwise be drawn by the camp’s darker pull – competing factions, drug traffickers and religious extremist groups.

‘The environment in Shatila means that there is a need for culture,’ he tells Metro. ‘I wanted to be useful to the community here, so I set up the chess club.

‘Through the game, children can develop their minds and conscience, and learn, and not get drawn to bad things.’

To fund this, Mahmoud sold his car and all his furniture, and moved out of his house to turn it into a space for the club.

Since then, he has been living with his daughter’s family and working in a cafe in the suburb of Ghobeiry to make ends meet and pay the club’s bills and the teachers who dedicate their time.

People told him he was ‘crazy’ but he ignored them after witnessing first-hand the positive impact it made on the two boys he encountered 15 years ago.

After Mahmoud stopped their fight, he continued to invest time and teach them chess for several years until both turned 18 and moved out of the camp.

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Following his footsteps, now one of them works in a chess club in Cyprus, teaching several dozens of children.

The club in Shatila boasts 72 members, both girls and boys. Their daily programme includes after-school support and chess lessons as well as other creative activities.

While Mahmoud’s main goal is to keep children off the streets of Shatila, he also hopes to instill in them a deep love for Palestine.

He says: ‘As Palestinian refugees, all our lives are related to Palestine. To return, first, we need to learn how to be attached to the land while apart.

‘My children have grown to love Palestine even more than myself.’

Behind him, a map of Palestine graces the bookshelves in his office. In the room next door, where six girls are moving pieces on the checkerboard with mesmersing precision, the map and flag are painted on the tiled walls.

Gesturing at the two portraits on the wall – of former secretary-general of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, and former Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who were both assassinated by Israel in 2024, the director says: ‘We are not an NGO, or an official humanitarian organisation. This is why we can have their portraits here.’

Mahmoud adds: ‘Our only rule is that everyone is respectful and ethical.

‘Yes, the club focuses on Palestine, but we have children from many other nationalities.

‘We never ask about that or religion. We do not want to exclude anyone.

‘The relationship between you and your God is for you only, not for us to know. So we do not talk about religion. We fast during Ramadan and then celebrate Christmas.’

Two of his students, Alaa Liddawi, 15, and Zayneb Sayel, 18, did not know anything about chess before joining the club. Practicing the game has now become their favourite part of the week.

Zayneb, a Syrian national who was born in Lebanon to a Lebanese mother and a Syrian father, nods confidently when I ask her if she is a good chess player after a year of learning.

She explains that there is a degree of separation between the realities of life in the refugee camp and the club, where she can just focus on learning.

‘I started coming here after school, every day, and learnt to love it more and more over time,’ the teenager adds, as she adjusts the edges of her cream-coloured headscarf.

For Mahmoud, chess was love at first sight, and provided the same sort of refuge that he hopes to gift to the children in Shatila.

He started learning in 1985, at the age of 17, during the ‘War of the Camps’, a sub-conflict within the Lebanese Civil War, in which the Sunni Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut were besieged by the Shia Amal militia. 

A friend of his family taught him how to play before being martyred in the fighting.

Frequent accidents and the ruthless Sabra and Shatila massacres in the 1980s, during which between 2,000 and 3,500 people were killed by a right-wing Lebanese militia, in alliance with the Israeli army, have left scars on every corner in the camp.

Every next generation continues to bear the brunt of the past, living a life not too dissimilar from the first refugees in the settlement.

Similarly to Mahmoud, Majdi Adam – known as ‘Captain Majdi’ – is working to somehow better the lives of Shatila’s children.

Sat in a plastic chair outside a corner shop, the sports coach points to his chest to draw attention to the red ‘Love Football Hate Racism’ football top he is wearing. It is the message he wants to broadcast to the world.

Beaming with pride, he tells me about becoming ‘famous’ in the camp after launching Basket Beats Borders (BBB) with the help of a friend in 2016.

The project aims to educate young people through sports, and focuses on empowering girls and enhancing their role in life.

The 53-year-old explains that the goal is simple – stop families marrying off their daughters too early and allow them to develop themselves through sports.

He says: ‘I hope to encourage girls to join sports instead. Once they are out of their house, their lives change for the better. They gain more confidence and develop their studies.

‘A woman is not simply meant to get married, become pregnant and stay at home her whole life.

‘And if I help one girl, I will fix a family. If I fix a family, I will fix our society in Shatila. As you know, the conditions that we live in are very bad.

‘I do not know why girls are not given the same chance, as the boys here, to improve themselves through sport.

‘This is how they can achieve their dreams. Through sport, they can travel and continue their education and find out what they want to do in life. It is beautiful.’ 

As Majdi explains, over the years, the project has allowed the team of girls to travel outside Lebanon and physically ‘break the border’ of the ordinary refugee experience.

Since 2016, the project has grown – with an average of 500 players – and he is now coaching the next generation of girls after the previous cohort, who he described as ‘the leaders in the camp’, are in university pursuing their studies.

Palestinians in the country face severe restrictions, including legal barriers to owning property and working in a number of high-level professions, limited access to public services like healthcare and education, and a lack of Lebanese citizenship. 

For both Mahmoud and Mazdi, educating the next generations in Shatila is paramount to change the status quo for refugees.

Christian Aid is one of the charities working on educational projects in therefugee camps in Lebanon, in partnership with the women-focused NGO Association Najdeh.

The UK-based organisation provided microgrants to 59 community groups in 2024, including the chess club in Shatila.

Leila Younes, Christian Aid programme manager for Lebanon, said about its importance: ‘Recently and since the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the club also serves as a lifeline for young people to play and help them contend with the psychological trauma resulted from the assault.

‘The club aims to engage with vulnerable children and young people including school defaulters, educational needs and those who may be at risk of joining organised drug gangs.

‘The club also helps with keeping children safe by engaging in stimulating activity outside of school hours.’

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The Star of David was being worn on a silver chain by the lawyer as he recorded the actions of the pro-Palestine crowd on two cameras.

The ceasefire came into effect just ten days ago.

After the ceasefire in Gaza, Israel has left behind a silent killer – tens of thousands of unexploded bombs buried deep in the wreckage of homes, hospitals, schools and streets.

One in 10 of the missiles, grenades, shells and mortars fired into the Gaza Strip over the past two years are estimated to have failed, turning the area into one of the most dangerous places in the world.

Greg Crowther, director of programmes for British-based charity, the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), said that about 200,000 tonnes of ammunition has been unleashed by Israel overall.

He told Metro: ‘Until we are able to survey these areas, remove some of the rubble and identify the ammunition that has been used… [Some are] more prone to not functioning.

‘As we start to get more information, it will become easier to estimate how extensive that problem. 200,000 tonnes of ammunition has been used.

‘Last year, the United Nations quoted a failure rate of about 10%, which is reasonable. So it could be 20,000 tonnes of unexploded ammunition.’

These could range from 500kg airdropped bombs to rockets fired from a tank or an aircraft.

They lie half-buried in rubble and sand, wedged between collapsed walls, all invisible until it is too late.

Crowther warned that often, the highest number of accidents happen in the immediate post-conflict phase.

This is similar to what MAG is observing in Syria as displaced people return from Turkey and from inside Syria to areas where they have not been for many years.

He added: ‘We have already heard of reports of children being killed after finding and opening what appeared to be a box of fuses.’

It will take years – probably five or more – just to deal with priority sites in Gaza, MAG warned.

Any removal of UXOs would have to happen simultaneously with clearance of the ’80 million tonnes of rubble’ left after Israel’s bombing campaign.

Some areas have seen 90 to 95% of buildings entirely or partially destroyed and across the Strip, it is around 80%.

Crowther said: ‘Within that rubble there are human remains, asbestos, toxic chemicals, and unexploded bombs. It is a perfect storm of hazards.’

After the six-week bombing campaign in 2008-2009, it took two years for MAG deminers to clear 300 items.

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As this war has been ‘far more intense’, they are looking at ‘thousands of tasks, possibly tens of thousands’.

Crowther added: ‘It is a huge, multi-year, tens-of-millions-of-dollars job and that is just for the explosive ordnance response, not the rebuilding.’

Working with colleagues from their Palestinian partner Save Youth Future Society, MAG is trying to reach as many as possible displaced Gazans as they travel north along the coastal road to make them aware of the dangers.

Fact check: Did Israel leave behind booby-trapped toys?

Shortly after the ceasefire was announced, pictures of a booby-trapped Teletubby toy began circulating on social media.

A post on X, which has been viewed more than nine million times, said: ‘BREAKING – Gaza Civil Defense: We found booby-trapped children’s toys and canned food that the occupation deliberately planted to cause more casualties.’

Yet, the purple doll was discovered in Yemen, as shown in a video from 2018 that is still on YouTube.

The video was created by Project Masam, another humanitarian group that clears landmines in Yemen.

This does not mean that booby-trapped items have not been left behind in Gaza, but that misinformation has flooded social media.

Children’s toys and other everyday items stuffed with explosives have been found in Syria and Ukraine in recent years.

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‘We are directing the BBC to broadcast a statement of our findings,’ Ofcom said.

The president spoke by phone to the Israeli leader on Friday, who said he interpreted Hamas’s ambiguous response as a rejection of Trump’s 20-point peace proposal.

She has broken out with ‘rashes’, according to insiders.

‘The right to protest is a fundamental freedom in our country.’

Jihad Al-Shamie tried to get inside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, on Thursday.

‘If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.’

Terror attack came as report warned of rising antisemitism in Britain.

Several vessels of Greta’s aid flotilla have been stopped

The showdown comes after Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree on a plan to end the war in Gaza.

Most of the remaining audience were the PM’s invited guests in the balcony.

Lipman disagrees with Margolyes’ comments ‘comparing Israelis to Nazis’.

The Trump administration has vowed to block FIFA from banning Israel from the 2026 World Cup.

European football’s governing body, UEFA, is understood to be moving towards a vote to suspend Israel next week over the war in Gaza.

It is unclear whether FIFA will support UEFA’s decision or follow suit, however, the United States government insist they will prevent any attempt to stop Israel from playing at the World Cup next year, which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico.

‘We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup,’ a US state department spokesperson told Sky News.

Israel have already played five World Cup qualifying matches and remain in contention to feature at next year’s competition, although they have not reached a major tournament since 1970.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa are due to host Israeli side Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Europa League on November 6.

Earlier this week, a panel of experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council demanded the exclusion of Israel from international football events.

‘Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual,’ the experts said.

‘Sporting bodies must not turn a blind eye to grave human rights violations, especially when their platforms are used to normalise injustices.’

That report came after a commission established by the United Nations concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Israel responded by saying it ‘categorically rejects this distorted and false report’.

Last week, Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, also called for Israel to be excluded from international sports competitions.

‘The sports organisations should consider whether it’s ethical for Israel to keep participating in international competitions. Why expel Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and not expel Israel after the invasion of Gaza?’ Sanchez said.

‘Until the barbarity ends, neither Russia nor Israel should be in any international competition.’

Russia has been banned by FIFA and UEFA in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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For Palestinians, Britain has never been a bystander; it has been an architect of our dispossession.

The prime minister said in July he would recognise Palestine at the UNGA if the ‘appalling situation in Gaza’ did not improve.

Check out this map of every country in the world that recognises Palestinian statehood.

Piers Morgan has clashed with an Israeli war veteran over the death toll in Gaza, which could have surpassed 90,000.

Numbers shared by the Gaza health ministry suggest that Israel has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023, with another 165,697 people wounded.

But Benjamin Anthony, former Israeli Defence Forces sergeant, appeared to slip up on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored.

Tensions rose when he was questioned on the number of civilians killed in Gaza.

Piers asked: ‘Just to be clear, what is the total number of who have been civilians killed?’

Benjamin replied: ‘So the estimate currently is that there is something in the realm of one terrorist killed, and in that context, two civilians killed.’

Piers interjected, ‘So 60,000 civilians have been killed?’.

In the heated exchange, Piers breaks down the numbers suggesting that the former IDF sergeant believes the death toll is closer to 90,000 rather than the 60,000 as reported by the Palestinian health ministry.

Piers said: ‘Two civilians to one terrorist. 30,000 terrorists, two times that is 60, that’s 90,000 people have been killed.

‘That is way higher than the numbers given by the Gaza Health Ministry which you’ve tried to say are wrong.’

Civilians in Gaza City continue to face shelling as Israeli military push deeper into the enclave.

Local media in Gaza have reported the death toll stands at 51 today.

On Tuesday, the UN commission of inquiry said that Israel was committing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, but Israel denies the allegations.

‘What we are witnessing in Gaza is not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the UN Commission of Inquiry has now concluded is a genocide,’ a statement read.

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‘All the enablers have to go.’

The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 65,000.

‘Acts of aggression aimed at intimidating and derailing our mission will not deter us.’

The protest is underway in central London.

Posters on the shop windows reads ‘Stop starving Gaza. We are closed in solidarity’.