Washington, DC, August 5, 2024. Four years ago, Lebanon experienced the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. The Beirut port blast killed over 200 people and injured thousands of others. The American Task Force on Lebanon remains steadfast in our support of the victims and their families of the port explosion. Four years later, there has yet to be a complete investigation and those at fault remain shielded by a politically compromised judicial process. We demand a complete investigation with transparent findings made available to the public and accountability for the individuals bearing responsibility for storing a large amount of ammonium nitrate that detonated at the port. It is time that those responsible, at all levels of government, be brought to justice.
This anniversary comes as the people of Lebanon have experienced over 10 months of conflict in the south that has now extended to the country’s capital, a grinding economic and social collapse, and a seemingly indefinite presidential vacuum and political paralysis. “The Lebanese people deserve to see their elected leaders do at least one thing that puts the welfare of the country over the interests of the political class,” said Ambassador (ret.) Ed Gabriel, President of ATFL. “Every year that goes by that this calamity goes unaddressed is another tragic reminder of the lack of leadership from Lebanon’s political class,” he added.
