WATCH LIVE: Massive Explosion Rocks Port District of Beirut, Lebanon
A titanic explosion shook the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday, shaking buildings and sending a huge cloud of smoke over the middle of the city.
Early reports said the explosion occurred at the port of Beirut, while amateur video captured images of a blast near the shore that sent a shockwave billowing through the water.
Terrible. The most clear footage from Beirut port explosion(s) so far pic.twitter.com/4WqOHtUPZd
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) August 4, 2020
The Daily Starof Lebanon reported there were two explosions on Tuesday morning. One of them evidently wiped out the Beirut offices of the newspaper:
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 explosion was powerful enough to shatter windows ten kilometers away:
My brother sent me this, we live 10 KM away from the explosion site and the glass of our bldgs got shattered. #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/MPByBc673m
— Abir Ghattas (@AbirGhattas) August 4, 2020
A Jordanian news network carried footage that clearly showed the explosion wiping out a building and shaking the entire city:
انفجار ضخم يهز العاصمة اللبنانية بيروت
— رؤيا (@RoyaTV) August 4, 2020
التفاصيل في الرابط: https://t.co/q02O6Wmcoc#beirut #بيروت #لبنان #انفجار #رؤيا_الاخباري pic.twitter.com/AdPP832emf
As of noon Eastern time, there were no official reports of casualties, a specific target, or possible perpetrators if the explosions were deliberate bombings, but Lebanon is currently experiencing a great deal of political upheaval. Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigned on Monday, warning that Lebanon was on the verge of becoming a “failed state.”
A United Nations tribunal is expected to soon issue its verdict on the investigation of four members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization for their role in 2005 the car bomb assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. One of Tuesday’s explosions occurred not far from the residence of Rafik’s son Saad Hariri, himself formerly prime minister of Lebanon.