A father's grief and a nation's hope: Lebanon awaits justice five years after Beirut blast
The hospital was in the path of the blast and was heavily damaged. He found his daughter lying on the floor as her colleagues tried to revive her. They weren't able to save her. She was one of four medical staff killed there.
'I started telling God that living for 60 years is more than enough. If you're going to take someone from the family, take me and leave her alive,' he told The Associated Press from his home in Bsalim, some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away from the port. He sat in a corner where he put up portraits of Jessica next to burning incense to honor her.
'I begged him, but he didn't reply to me.'
The Aug. 4, 2020 blast in Beirut's port tore through the Lebanese capital after hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in a warehouse. The gigantic explosion killed at least 218 people, according to an AP count, wounded more than 6,000 others and devastated large swathes of Beirut, causing billions of dollars in damages.
It further angered the nation, already in economic free-fall after decades of corruption and financial crimes. Many family members of the victims pinned their hopes on Judge Tarek Bitar, who was tasked with investigating the explosion. The maverick judge shook the country's ruling elite, pursuing top officials, who for years obstructed his investigation.
But five years after the blast, no official has been convicted as the probe stalled. And the widespread rage over the explosion and years of apparent negligence from a web of political, security and judicial officials has faded as Lebanon's economy further crumbled and conflict rocked the country.
Judge Bitar had aimed to release the indictment last year but it was stalled by months of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group that decimated large swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon, killing some 4,000 people.
In early 2025, Lebanon elected President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and a Cabinet that came to power on reformist platforms. They vowed that completing the port probe and holding the perpetrators to account would be a priority.
'There will be no settlement in the port case before there is accountability,' Salam said Sunday.
Bitar, apparently galvanized by these developments, summoned a handful of senior political and security officials in July, as well as three judges in a new push for the case, but was unable to release an indictment over the summer as had been widely expected.
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