More than 300 militants have reportedly been killed in clashes with the Lebanese Army over the past 51 days, with the army losing at least 84 servicemen.
"Sporadic skirmishes [between army and militants], artillery shelling and subsequent periods of calm have become a typical scenario for the ongoing crisis," the As-Safir daily said.
The Lebanese Army has surrounded the Nahr al-Bared camp in an operation to eliminate the last of the Fatah al-Islam extremist group that are holed up in the "old camp," where the militants retreated under pressure from the troops.
Most of the territory surrounding the refugee camp is a conglomerate of multi-story buildings seriously damaged in clashes between the Lebanese Army and Palestinian militants that have been continuing since May 20.
Under the Cairo Agreement signed between Lebanon and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1969, the Lebanese Army cannot cross the camp's official boundaries defined by the UN.
Talks to resolve the current standoff have been stalled over "the absence of a clear political solution," with the Lebanese military command demanding the unconditional surrender of Fatah al-Islam, reportedly linked to al-Qaeda, the paper said.
However, the Lebanese government seems to be hesitant to authorize a decisive assault on the camp.
Another Lebanese newspaper, Ad-Diyar, earlier said the Islamic militants, who have sustained substantial losses in clashes with the army, "can no longer offer prolonged resistance to Lebanese troops," adding that the number of militants in the area is no more than 50.
