Issued on: 04/08/2020
A general view of the scene of after blasts at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. © STR, AFP
Text by:FRANCE 24
5
Countries around the world have been paying tribute to victims of two deadly blasts in Beirut on Tuesday and sending offers of assistance to Lebanon, a country already reeling from the effects of overlapping crises before disaster struck its capital.
"France stands and will always stand by the side of Lebanon and the Lebanese. It is ready to provide assistance according to the needs expressed by the Lebanese authorities," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a tweet after the incident in Beirut which left scores dead and wounded thousands more.
French President Emmanuel Macron said French aid and resources were being sent to Lebanon.
❝I express my fraternal solidarity with the Lebanese people after the explosion which claimed so many victims and caused so much damage this evening in Beirut. France stands alongside Lebanon. And always will. French assistance and resources are on their way❞
➖@EmmanuelMacron https://t.co/ErPdFObpV2— France Diplomacy🇫🇷 (@francediplo_EN) August 4, 2020
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his country stood ready to provide any support it could to help.
"The pictures and videos from Beirut tonight are shocking," Johnson wrote on Twitter. "All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident.
"The UK is ready to provide support in any way we can, including to those British nationals affected."
In the United States, the State Department was closely following reports of an explosion in Beirut and stands ready to offer 'all possible assistance', a spokesperson for the agency said
The State Department has no information about the cause of the explosion, the spokesperson said and added that the agency is working closely with local authorities to determine if any US citizens were affected in the incident.
We share the pain of the Lebanese people and sincerely reach out to offer our aid at this difficult time.— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) August 4, 2020
Israel offered humanitarian aid to Lebanon, with which it is still technically at war, after Tuesday's explosions.
"Following the explosion in Beirut, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, on behalf of the State of Israel, have offered the Lebanese government -- via international intermediaries -- medical and humanitarian aid, as well as immediate emergency assistance," said a joint statement from the two ministries.
Meanwhile, Iran's top diplomat expressed Tehran's support for the "resilient" people of Lebanon after the blasts.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the great and resilient people of Lebanon," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.
"As always, Iran is fully prepared to render assistance in any way necessary," he said. "Stay strong, Lebanon."
Our thoughts and prayers are with the great and resilient people of Lebanon.
As always, Iran is fully prepared to render assistance in any way necessary.
Stay strong, Lebanon.
🖤🇱🇧— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 4, 2020
Countries in the Gulf paid tribute to victims as well, with Qatar saying it would send field hospitals to support Lebanon's medical response.
Qatar's ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani called President Michel Aoun to offer condolences, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency.
Sheikh Tamim wished "a speedy recovery for the injured", QNA reported, adding that he "expressed Qatar's solidarity with brotherly Lebanon and its willingness to provide all kinds of assistance".
Field hospitals would be dispatched, the report added.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted that "our hearts are with Beirut and its people".
He posted the tribute alongside an image of Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, illuminated in the colours of the Lebanese flag.
"Our prayers during these difficult hours are that God... protects brotherly Lebanon and the Lebanese to reduce their affliction and heal their wounds," he wrote.
Gulf countries including Qatar and the UAE maintain close ties with Beirut and have long provided financial aid and diplomatic assistance to mediate Lebanon's political and sectarian divisions.
Bahrain's foreign ministry urged its nationals in Lebanon to contact the ministry's operations centre or Manama's representative in Beirut, while Kuwait ordered its citizens to take extreme caution and stay indoors.
It also asked those in need of assistance to contact their embassy.
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees extended his best wishes after the tragedy in Beirut.
With my many Lebanese friends and colleagues tonight, and with all the people of Lebanon — in solidarity, wishing them renewed strength and much courage. pic.twitter.com/C5ORnOovTu— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) August 4, 2020
"With my many Lebanese friends and colleagues tonight, and with all the people of Lebanon — in solidarity, wishing them renewed strength and much courage," UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi tweeted Tuesday. Lebanon, a country of around 4.5 million people has been disproportionately affected by the war in neighbouring Syria with an influx of an estimated 1.5 million refugees.
"My thoughts and heart are with people in Beirut, Lebanon, who lost loved ones or were injured in the explosion this afternoon," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted Tuesday, expressing his support for a country already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic among other crises.
The WHO's director-general added that his organization "stands ready to support the government and healthworkers in saving lives".
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
Scores dead, thousands wounded as massive explosions rock Beirut
Issued on: 04/08/2020 - 17:54
Text by:FRANCE 24Follow|
Video by:Nadia MASSIH AT END OF ARTICLE
Two explosions rock Beirut, dozens wounded"France stands and will always stand by the side of Lebanon and the Lebanese. It is ready to provide assistance according to the needs expressed by the Lebanese authorities," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a tweet after the incident in Beirut which left scores dead and wounded thousands more.
French President Emmanuel Macron said French aid and resources were being sent to Lebanon.
❝I express my fraternal solidarity with the Lebanese people after the explosion which claimed so many victims and caused so much damage this evening in Beirut. France stands alongside Lebanon. And always will. French assistance and resources are on their way❞
➖@EmmanuelMacron https://t.co/ErPdFObpV2— France Diplomacy🇫🇷 (@francediplo_EN) August 4, 2020
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his country stood ready to provide any support it could to help.
"The pictures and videos from Beirut tonight are shocking," Johnson wrote on Twitter. "All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident.
"The UK is ready to provide support in any way we can, including to those British nationals affected."
In the United States, the State Department was closely following reports of an explosion in Beirut and stands ready to offer 'all possible assistance', a spokesperson for the agency said
The State Department has no information about the cause of the explosion, the spokesperson said and added that the agency is working closely with local authorities to determine if any US citizens were affected in the incident.
We share the pain of the Lebanese people and sincerely reach out to offer our aid at this difficult time.— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) August 4, 2020
Israel offered humanitarian aid to Lebanon, with which it is still technically at war, after Tuesday's explosions.
"Following the explosion in Beirut, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, on behalf of the State of Israel, have offered the Lebanese government -- via international intermediaries -- medical and humanitarian aid, as well as immediate emergency assistance," said a joint statement from the two ministries.
Meanwhile, Iran's top diplomat expressed Tehran's support for the "resilient" people of Lebanon after the blasts.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the great and resilient people of Lebanon," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.
"As always, Iran is fully prepared to render assistance in any way necessary," he said. "Stay strong, Lebanon."
Our thoughts and prayers are with the great and resilient people of Lebanon.
As always, Iran is fully prepared to render assistance in any way necessary.
Stay strong, Lebanon.
🖤🇱🇧— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 4, 2020
Countries in the Gulf paid tribute to victims as well, with Qatar saying it would send field hospitals to support Lebanon's medical response.
Qatar's ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani called President Michel Aoun to offer condolences, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency.
Sheikh Tamim wished "a speedy recovery for the injured", QNA reported, adding that he "expressed Qatar's solidarity with brotherly Lebanon and its willingness to provide all kinds of assistance".
Field hospitals would be dispatched, the report added.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted that "our hearts are with Beirut and its people".
He posted the tribute alongside an image of Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, illuminated in the colours of the Lebanese flag.
"Our prayers during these difficult hours are that God... protects brotherly Lebanon and the Lebanese to reduce their affliction and heal their wounds," he wrote.
Gulf countries including Qatar and the UAE maintain close ties with Beirut and have long provided financial aid and diplomatic assistance to mediate Lebanon's political and sectarian divisions.
Bahrain's foreign ministry urged its nationals in Lebanon to contact the ministry's operations centre or Manama's representative in Beirut, while Kuwait ordered its citizens to take extreme caution and stay indoors.
It also asked those in need of assistance to contact their embassy.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morningSubscribe
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees extended his best wishes after the tragedy in Beirut.
With my many Lebanese friends and colleagues tonight, and with all the people of Lebanon — in solidarity, wishing them renewed strength and much courage. pic.twitter.com/C5ORnOovTu— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) August 4, 2020
"With my many Lebanese friends and colleagues tonight, and with all the people of Lebanon — in solidarity, wishing them renewed strength and much courage," UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi tweeted Tuesday. Lebanon, a country of around 4.5 million people has been disproportionately affected by the war in neighbouring Syria with an influx of an estimated 1.5 million refugees.
"My thoughts and heart are with people in Beirut, Lebanon, who lost loved ones or were injured in the explosion this afternoon," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted Tuesday, expressing his support for a country already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic among other crises.
The WHO's director-general added that his organization "stands ready to support the government and healthworkers in saving lives".
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
Scores dead, thousands wounded as massive explosions rock Beirut
Issued on: 04/08/2020 - 17:54
Text by:FRANCE 24Follow|
Video by:Nadia MASSIH AT END OF ARTICLE
Two huge explosions rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, shaking buildings and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky. The country's health minister said at least 50 people had been killed and more than 2,750 injured.
Lebanese LBC television channel had earlier quoted Health Minister Hamad Hasan saying an explosion in central Beirut had caused a "very high number of injuries" and extensive damage.
Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosions, the cause of which was not immediately known.
Lebanese LBC television channel had earlier quoted Health Minister Hamad Hasan saying an explosion in central Beirut had caused a "very high number of injuries" and extensive damage.
Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosions, the cause of which was not immediately known.
Powerful blasts rocked the Lebanese capital on August 4, 2020. © FMM Graphic Studio
A security source confirmed that two explosions shook the port area of the city, Lebanon's largest urban area.
Lebanon's internal security chief Abbas Ibrahim said that a massive blast in Beirut's port area occurred in a section housing highly-explosive materials, and not explosive as had been reported earlier by the official state news agency NNA.
Stunning video shows explosions just minutes ago at Beirut port pic.twitter.com/ZjltF0VcTr— Borzou Daragahi 🖊🗒 (@borzou) August 4, 2020
An AFP correspondent at the scene said every shop in the Hamra commercial district had sustained damage, with entire shopfronts destroyed, windows shattered and many cars wrecked.
Injured people were walking in the street, while outside the Clemenceau Medical Centre, dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood, were rushing to be admitted to the centre including children.
Destroyed cars had been abandoned in the street with their airbags inflated.
pic.twitter.com/IWMjT2jYWW— Lebanese Red Cross (@RedCrossLebanon) August 4, 2020
A huge cloud of black smoke was engulfing the entire port area, the AFP correspondent said.
The loud blasts in Beirut's port area were felt across the city and beyond and some districts lost electricity.
"Buildings are shaking," tweeted one resident, while another wrote: "An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away."
Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.
BREAKING: Massive explosion in Beirut. Footage from the daily star office now in Lebanon pic.twitter.com/2uBsKP5wCH— Ghada Alsharif (@GhadaaSharif) August 4, 2020
The explosions came at a time when Lebanon is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, which has left nearly half of the population in poverty.
Lebanon's economy has collapsed in recent months, with the local currency plummeting against the dollar, businesses closing en masse and poverty soaring at the same alarming rate as unemployment.
One more video of downtown Beirut. The reconstruction of this area symbolized Lebanon’s emergence from the civil war. pic.twitter.com/jMEWc8Kfuw— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) August 4, 2020
The explosions also come as Lebanon awaits the verdict on Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, killed in a huge truck bomb attack.
Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people.
A woman in the city centre told AFP: "It felt like an earthquake ... I felt it was bigger than the explosion in the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005".
Tensions have also been high with neighbouring Israel, after Israel said it thwarted an infiltration attempt by up to five Hezbollah gunmen, a claim denied by the Iran-backed group.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
A security source confirmed that two explosions shook the port area of the city, Lebanon's largest urban area.
Lebanon's internal security chief Abbas Ibrahim said that a massive blast in Beirut's port area occurred in a section housing highly-explosive materials, and not explosive as had been reported earlier by the official state news agency NNA.
Stunning video shows explosions just minutes ago at Beirut port pic.twitter.com/ZjltF0VcTr— Borzou Daragahi 🖊🗒 (@borzou) August 4, 2020
An AFP correspondent at the scene said every shop in the Hamra commercial district had sustained damage, with entire shopfronts destroyed, windows shattered and many cars wrecked.
Injured people were walking in the street, while outside the Clemenceau Medical Centre, dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood, were rushing to be admitted to the centre including children.
Destroyed cars had been abandoned in the street with their airbags inflated.
pic.twitter.com/IWMjT2jYWW— Lebanese Red Cross (@RedCrossLebanon) August 4, 2020
A huge cloud of black smoke was engulfing the entire port area, the AFP correspondent said.
The loud blasts in Beirut's port area were felt across the city and beyond and some districts lost electricity.
"Buildings are shaking," tweeted one resident, while another wrote: "An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away."
Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.
BREAKING: Massive explosion in Beirut. Footage from the daily star office now in Lebanon pic.twitter.com/2uBsKP5wCH— Ghada Alsharif (@GhadaaSharif) August 4, 2020
The explosions came at a time when Lebanon is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, which has left nearly half of the population in poverty.
Lebanon's economy has collapsed in recent months, with the local currency plummeting against the dollar, businesses closing en masse and poverty soaring at the same alarming rate as unemployment.
One more video of downtown Beirut. The reconstruction of this area symbolized Lebanon’s emergence from the civil war. pic.twitter.com/jMEWc8Kfuw— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) August 4, 2020
The explosions also come as Lebanon awaits the verdict on Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, killed in a huge truck bomb attack.
Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people.
A woman in the city centre told AFP: "It felt like an earthquake ... I felt it was bigger than the explosion in the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005".
Tensions have also been high with neighbouring Israel, after Israel said it thwarted an infiltration attempt by up to five Hezbollah gunmen, a claim denied by the Iran-backed group.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
Issued on: 04/08/2020 - 18:14
VIDEO AT THE END
The blast in Beirut's port area sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky Anwar AMRO AFP
Beirut (AFP)
Two huge explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, wounding dozens of people, shaking buildings and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.
Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosions, the cause of which was not immediately known.
A security source confirmed that two explosions shook the port area of the city, Lebanon's largest urban area, leaving dozens wounded.
An AFP correspondent at the scene said every shop in the Hamra commercial district had sustained damage, with entire shopfronts destroyed, windows shattered and many cars wrecked.
Injured people were walking in the street, while outside the Clemenceau Medical Centre, dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood, were rushing to be admitted to the centre including children.
Destroyed cars had been abandoned in the street with their airbags inflated.
A huge cloud of black smoke was engulfing the entire port area, the AFP correspondent said.
The loud blasts in Beirut's port area were felt across the city and beyond and some districts lost electricity.
"Buildings are shaking," tweeted one resident, while another wrote: "An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away."
Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.
The explosions came at a time when Lebanon is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, which has left nearly half of the population in poverty.
Lebanon's economy has collapsed in recent months, with the local currency plummeting against the dollar, businesses closing en masse and poverty soaring at the same alarming rate as unemployment.
The explosions also come as Lebanon awaits the verdict on Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, killed in a huge truck bomb attack.
Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people.
A woman in the city centre told AFP: "It felt like an earthquake ... I felt it was bigger than the explosion in the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005".
Tensions have also been high with neighbouring Israel, after Israel said it thwarted an infiltration attempt by up to five Hezbollah gunmen, a claim denied by the Iran-backed group.
© 2020 AFP
Two deadly massive explosions rock Lebanese capital BeirutBeirut (AFP)
Two huge explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, wounding dozens of people, shaking buildings and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.
Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosions, the cause of which was not immediately known.
A security source confirmed that two explosions shook the port area of the city, Lebanon's largest urban area, leaving dozens wounded.
An AFP correspondent at the scene said every shop in the Hamra commercial district had sustained damage, with entire shopfronts destroyed, windows shattered and many cars wrecked.
Injured people were walking in the street, while outside the Clemenceau Medical Centre, dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood, were rushing to be admitted to the centre including children.
Destroyed cars had been abandoned in the street with their airbags inflated.
A huge cloud of black smoke was engulfing the entire port area, the AFP correspondent said.
The loud blasts in Beirut's port area were felt across the city and beyond and some districts lost electricity.
"Buildings are shaking," tweeted one resident, while another wrote: "An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away."
Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.
The explosions came at a time when Lebanon is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, which has left nearly half of the population in poverty.
Lebanon's economy has collapsed in recent months, with the local currency plummeting against the dollar, businesses closing en masse and poverty soaring at the same alarming rate as unemployment.
The explosions also come as Lebanon awaits the verdict on Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, killed in a huge truck bomb attack.
Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people.
A woman in the city centre told AFP: "It felt like an earthquake ... I felt it was bigger than the explosion in the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005".
Tensions have also been high with neighbouring Israel, after Israel said it thwarted an infiltration attempt by up to five Hezbollah gunmen, a claim denied by the Iran-backed group.
© 2020 AFP
Issued on: 04/08/2020 - 17:54
Text by:FRANCE 24Follow
Two huge explosions rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, wounding dozens of people, shaking buildings and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.
Lebanese LBC television channel quoted Health Minister Hamad Hasan saying an explosion in central Beirut had caused a "very high number of injuries" and extensive damage.
At least 10 bodies were taken to hospitals, a security source and a medical source told Reuters. The Lebanese Red Cross said hundreds of people were taken hospitals for treatment.
Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosions, the cause of which was not immediately known.
A security source confirmed that two explosions shook the port area of the city, Lebanon's largest urban area, leaving dozens wounded.
Lebanon's internal security chief Abbas Ibrahim said that a massive blast in Beirut's port area occurred in a section housing highly-explosive materials, and not explosive as had been reported earlier by the official state news agency NNA.
Stunning video shows explosions just minutes ago at Beirut port pic.twitter.com/ZjltF0VcTr— Borzou Daragahi 🖊🗒 (@borzou) August 4, 2020
An AFP correspondent at the scene said every shop in the Hamra commercial district had sustained damage, with entire shopfronts destroyed, windows shattered and many cars wrecked.
Injured people were walking in the street, while outside the Clemenceau Medical Centre, dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood, were rushing to be admitted to the centre including children.
Destroyed cars had been abandoned in the street with their airbags inflated.
A huge cloud of black smoke was engulfing the entire port area, the AFP correspondent said.
The loud blasts in Beirut's port area were felt across the city and beyond and some districts lost electricity.
"Buildings are shaking," tweeted one resident, while another wrote: "An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away."
Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.
BREAKING: Massive explosion in Beirut. Footage from the daily star office now in Lebanon pic.twitter.com/2uBsKP5wCH— Ghada Alsharif (@GhadaaSharif) August 4, 2020
The explosions came at a time when Lebanon is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, which has left nearly half of the population in poverty.
Lebanon's economy has collapsed in recent months, with the local currency plummeting against the dollar, businesses closing en masse and poverty soaring at the same alarming rate as unemployment.
One more video of downtown Beirut. The reconstruction of this area symbolized Lebanon’s emergence from the civil war. pic.twitter.com/jMEWc8Kfuw— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) August 4, 2020
The explosions also come as Lebanon awaits the verdict on Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, killed in a huge truck bomb attack.
Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people.
A woman in the city centre told AFP: "It felt like an earthquake ... I felt it was bigger than the explosion in the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005".
Tensions have also been high with neighbouring Israel, after Israel said it thwarted an infiltration attempt by up to five Hezbollah gunmen, a claim denied by the Iran-backed group.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
Published August 4, 2020 By Agence France-Presse
A huge explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, shaking buildings, shattering windows and sending a huge plume of smoke into the sky, AFP correspondents said.
Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosion, the cause of which was not immediately known.
The loud blast in Beirut‘s port area was felt across large parts of the city and some districts lost electricity.
Preliminary reports by local Lebanese media said the blast may have been the result of an incident at Beirut port.
BREAKING: Massive explosion in Beirut. Footage from the daily star office now in Lebanon pic.twitter.com/2uBsKP5wCH
— Ghada Alsharif (@GhadaaSharif) August 4, 2020
“Buildings are shaking,” tweeted one resident, while another wrote: “An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away”.
Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.
