The explosion increased the pain of a country that has been suffering for months, the repercussions of a severe economic crisis, and severe political polarization, in a scene in which regional and international parties intersect, as Lebanon has lived for decades in political fluctuations and extremely sensitive security conditions, and no worse than this tragedy was expected in light of the state of the political mix representing the component of the ruling authority, where the president is chosen from one sect, the prime minister from another sect, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives from a third sect. Also, external interventions, most represented by France, Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, have a significant impact on the course of affairs inside Lebanon. The seriousness of this explosion lies in the fact that it is evidence of the failure of the ruling authority in Lebanon, and its news continues to dominate the world and occupy the forefront of the political and economic scene, due to the enormity of the disaster and its horrific size, which caused great material damage to the majority of Beirut’s neighborhoods, especially those close to the site of the explosion, and a large number of the population became homeless, numbering up to 300 thousand people.
An expected disaster
Before the disaster occurred, it was preceded by a massive fire in the port, and video clips on social media platforms showed a cloud of white smoke emanating from Hangar No. (12) in a warehouse located opposite huge grain storage silos in the port, which contained about 2,750 tons of highly explosive “ammonium nitrate,” which had been confiscated and stored since 2014. Shortly after six o’clock in the evening Lebanese local time, the warehouse caught fire, and there was a large initial explosion followed by a series of Small explosions appeared, according to some eyewitnesses, to be like fireworks, and after about 30 seconds, a massive explosion occurred, sending a huge mushroom cloud into the air, and its storm and boom spread throughout the city. The second explosion destroyed buildings near the port, and caused destruction and damage in many other neighborhoods of the capital, which is inhabited by about two million people. Hospitals were quickly overwhelmed with the wounded and dead victims of the explosion. The explosion destroyed the dock area, leaving a hole estimated to be about 140 meters wide, which was filled with seawater.
Widespread destruction
Satellite images showed a scene of great destruction in the port area, and one of the ships there appeared to have been thrown out of the sea and landed on the dock due to the intensity of the explosion. The sound of the explosion shattered the window glass at the passenger gate at Beirut International Airport, located about nine kilometers from the site of the explosion in the port of Beirut. The explosion was heard on the island of Cyprus, located 200 kilometers away in the Mediterranean Sea. Seismic experts at the United States Geological Survey said that the force of the explosion was equivalent to an earthquake measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale.
Big claims
Immediately after the explosion, resignations continued among the ranks of Lebanese politicians in the context of the political repercussions of the explosion, the economic crisis that has been ongoing for months, and the blockage of the horizon for reform, as the Ministers of Information, Environment, Justice, and Finance announced their resignations, while the number of resigned representatives rose to 8 representatives 5 days after the tragedy, and they were followed by the resignation of Hassan Diab’s entire government. Diab described the corruption system in his resignation, which he announced on Monday evening, August 10, 2020, as being rooted in all aspects of the state and greater than the state. He said: “The corruption of the political class produced this hidden disaster for 7 years, and what is required is to change them because they are the true tragedy of the Lebanese people, and they did not read the revolution of the Lebanese on October 17, 2019, but they did not understand that it was against them.” He described the political class as the most dangerous to Lebanon and that it “lives On strife and trading in people’s blood.
Rising public anger
The announcement of the government’s resignation came amid large demonstrations in the vicinity of the House of Representatives in central Beirut, where protesters demanded the resignation of the House of Representatives after the government. The demonstrators raised slogans considering that the government’s resignation meant nothing in light of the horror of the tragedy of the huge explosion, and demanded the removal of what they described as the corrupt ruling class. Nearly a month after the incident, the demonstrators’ questions remain unanswered: Does the government’s resignation contribute to reaching tangible results to find out the real culprit in this heinous crime, and satisfy the Lebanese street, or does it evade the responsibility that Diab previously announced, by declaring that the government would remain for two months in order to give the political forces and parties the opportunity to solve the roots of the political problem in Lebanon? Can the ongoing investigations include senior officials and former heads of government, or are they limited only to senior and junior employees?
