A huge explosion shook Beirut: at least 73 died and 3,700 injured - Israel offered help

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by Ifi Reporter Category:Politics Aug 4, 2020

A huge explosion shook the port area of ​​Beirut, Lebanon. The country's health minister told local media that more than 73 people were killed in the blast, at least 3,700 were injured - and many more are still trapped under the rubble. Testimonies from those present at the scene of the explosion, which was felt even in Cyprus, indicate that this is an event of a magnitude that has not been seen for years in Lebanon. Hospitals are collapsing under congestion, and many injured are receiving medical treatment on the streets. "The firefighters who were called to the scene simply disappeared after the explosion," the Beirut port manager told the Sky News network.
A Beirut resident named Paddy Rumi, who was standing in the parking lot of a shopping center about two miles east of the blast site, described it as "feeling like being hit by a nuclear bomb". He said, "The damage following the incident is very serious, it has hit all over the city." He added that "buildings within a two-mile radius of the arena have partially collapsed, it looks like a war zone, and the damage is extreme. Not a single complete window remains."
Israel offered the Lebanese government medical humanitarian aid, following the violent explosion that shook the city of Beirut, the Lebanese capital. The Israeli appeal was made under the direction of Defense Minister Bnei Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi through UNIFIL, the United Nations and France, and included a proposal to send medical equipment and receive wounded people in Israel.
After the proposal was announced, IDF spokesman Hedi Zilberman wrote that "this is the time to transcend any conflict." President Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin wrote on Twitter in Hebrew, Hebrew and English: "We share the pain of the Lebanese people during its disaster and send an outstretched hand for help." .
Another eyewitness said he watched "a large fireball and smoke billowing over Beirut." Speaking to Reuters, he described that "many people shouted and tried to escape when they were covered in blood. Balconies collapsed and detached from the buildings, and in high-rise buildings the window glass shattered and the debris fell onto the street."
A Beirut resident who witnessed the incident described seeing heavy gray smoke near the Beirut port area. Next, she described that she heard a loud explosion and in the wake she saw flames and black smoke. "All the windows in the downtown were completely shattered. Many injured people were walking around the streets. It was complete chaos."
Samah Hadid, a communications director at an international aid organization living near the area of ​​the blast, wrote on her Twitter account that "my apartment and building were completely destroyed by the blast in Beirut. Many were injured and hospitals are filling up."
The blast took place three days before a UN-backed court was due to hand down the verdict in the trial of four Hezbollah suspects responsible for the car bombing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in 2005. "It felt like an earthquake and was bigger than the explosion in the assassination of Rafik al-Hariri."

 

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