BEIRUT - A new Palestinian militant group based in the volatile Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp could be planning to attack the Egyptian Embassy in Lebanon because Cairo refused to open its border with Gaza during Israel's recent military offensive against the enclave.

Media reports, confirmed by a Lebanese security official, say the new group was set up after Israel launched its military onslaught against Gaza in December. Reports say it has been conducting training exercises in preparation for an attack.

Egypt could be targeted because of its refusal to open the Rafah crossing point on its border with Gaza during the fighting, effectively trapping Gazan civilians in the midst of an Israeli military operation hallmarked by large numbers of civilian casualties. At least 1,400 people were killed during three weeks of fighting.

The group, called the Jihad Movement for the Victory of Gaza, is said to include militants wanted for previous terrorist offenses who were recruited from groups like Fatah al-Islam, Jund al-Sham and Osbat al-Ansar.

Some reports have linked Abdel-Rahman Awad, a fugitive militant believed to have assumed leadership of the Fatah al-Islam group, to the new organization. Awad is known as the "Prince of Al-Qaeda" in Lebanon and is thought to be hiding inside Ain al-Hilweh. In December security services warned he was planning new attacks in Lebanon.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the security official warned the group should be taken seriously. "When Gaza was active, this gave birth to the formation of these new resistance groups," he said. "After the issue of the Rafah crossing, the Egyptians are afraid of the backlash. There will be a lot of pressure on the Egyptian government and the embassy."

He added that it is "possible" that an attack on the embassy will be attempted. Reports said that the group, set up by a Palestinian called Jamal Hamad with the help of a wanted Lebanese militant called Ghandi Sahmarani, has been trained by "foreign experts" in camps in the Bekaa Valley.

But a Palestinian source close to senior figures in the camp said the group was unlikely to pose a serious threat. "I don't think people from Ain al-Hilweh will attack the embassy. These people are extremists on the fringes. This is not the position of the main Palestinian groups."

He pointed out that even if a small group did try to launch an attack it would likely be thwarted by the authorities before it could be carried out. "No one would allow it," he said.

The group is the second new militant organization established in Lebanon since Israel launched its offensive against Gaza. Last month a group calling itself the Arab Islamic Resistance, claiming to have three thousand trained members armed with advanced weaponry, said it would "not stand idly by" as Gaza was attacked.

The group's rhetoric was dismissed by security officials as political posturing ahead of parliamentary polls due in June.