Families of victims praise 'positive dynamic, great progress' in investigation
The association of the families of the victims of the Aug. 4, 2020, explosion at the port of Beirut, which meets every fourth of the month to demand justice, praised in a statement on Sunday "a positive dynamic and great progress in the port case." Signs of this dynamic include Investigative Judge at the Court of Justice Tarek Bitar, who has for the first time questioned politicians in April: former minister Nouhad Machnouk on April 17 and former Prime Minister Hassan Diab on April 25.
"On this 57th month since the explosion at the port of Beirut, the truth remains captive, justice confiscated, and the criminals are free," lamented the statement, as the judicial investigation aimed at determining the responsibilities for this tragedy, which claimed the lives of 235 people and injured more than 6,500 others, has not yet concluded.
Renewing the call to shed full light on this tragedy and for "the independence of the Lebanese judiciary," the association reminds "all those who promised to deliver justice – the President of the Republic Joseph Aoun, the Justice Minister Adel Nasser, the Prime Minister Nawaf Salam – that we have indeed perceived a positive dynamic and a great progress in the port case."
The families had already praised in March Tarek Bitar, who took a decisive initiative in mid-January to continue his investigations by prosecuting 12 security officials and port officials, summoned for hearings that began on Feb. 7.
"To investigative judge Tarek Bitar, we say, the prayers of the mothers accompany your steps. And we remind those obstructing that the blood of our children is not a tool for political maneuvering, and that history will not forgive the accomplices, whether they wear an official uniform or a diplomat's tie! All are under the authority of the law," continued the families, before concluding on the necessity to complete the investigation in order to pay tribute "to the victims, to the martyrs and to the homeland."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
MTV Lebanon
7 hours ago
- MTV Lebanon
Paris calls on Israel to "withdraw from Lebanon as soon as possible"
France condemned on Friday the recent Israeli raids on Beirut's southern suburbs and called on Israel to "withdraw as quickly as possible from all Lebanese territory," according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, as reported by Agence France-Presse. The French Foreign Ministry said: "Paris calls on all parties to respect the ceasefire agreement." It stressed that "France reaffirms that the monitoring mechanism under the ceasefire agreement is in place to help the parties confront threats and prevent any escalation that could harm the security and stability of Lebanon and Israel." The French Foreign Ministry affirmed that "the dismantling of unauthorized military positions on Lebanese territory is primarily the responsibility of the Lebanese Armed Forces, with support from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)."
Nahar Net
7 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Geagea says Israeli airstrikes on Dahieh a 'major scandal'
by Naharnet Newsdesk 9 hours Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that the latest Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs were a 'major scandal,' seeing as 'eight months after the signing of the ceasefire agreement in November 2024, Beirut is being bombed again.' 'They are telling us that that happened because Israel is barbarous … We know that, but what have you done to prevent that?' Geagea wondered, stressing that 'the solution comes through the clear regional equation and the clear international equation.' 'We need someone to endorse these equations so that we manage to solve our problems,' the LF leader added, emphasizing that 'it it unacceptable for the Lebanese citizen to remain in danger of being bombed or killed in any given moment, whereas there is a solution.' He added that the solution takes places when Hezbollah and its allies allow the Lebanese state to become an 'actual state,' lamenting that state officials are also being lenient with Hezbollah regarding its weapons. 'Today Lebanon has a chance and I don't know if this chance will still be there two months from now. We have major friends in this world, starting by the Gulf countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States. They can help us stop the Israeli attacks and they can help us remove the Israelis from Lebanon, but on the condition that we become an actual state,' Geagea said. He also noted that 'verbal attacks' on Israel cannot resolve Lebanon's problems.
Al Manar
11 hours ago
- Al Manar
Israeli Violations of Lebanese Sovereignty Persist as Beirut's Dahiyeh Steadfastly Clears Attack Aftermath
The Israeli occupation forces continued on the second day of Eid Al-Adha to violate Lebanese sovereignty and breach the ceasefire agreement in effect along the southern border. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, an Israeli glider dropped on Saturday a bomb near civilians in the town of Houla, wounding two individuals. Meanwhile, Israeli reconnaissance drones maintained low-altitude flights over Beirut's southern suburbs and the southern towns of Al-Zahrani, Aaqbiyeh, and Bisariyeh areas. In the aftermath of the Israeli enemy strike on multiple residential buildings in Beirut's Dahiyeh, municipal teams, civil defense units, and local organizations, including Imam Al-Mahdi Scouts, continued clearing debris and assessing damage across residential areas. According to the local Reconstruction Committee, the attack completely destroyed nine buildings, damaged 71 others, and caused destruction to 50 vehicles and 177 commercial establishments. In a televised interview with the Saudi Al Hadath TV, Information Minister Paul Morcos stated that the Lebanese Army had inspected the alleged weapons storage sites in Beirut's southern suburbs and found no evidence of any arms. 'The ceasefire monitoring committee informed Israel that no weapons were present before the strike,' Morcos added, adding that the Israeli enemy deliberately keeps Lebanon in a constant state of conflict and obstructs the army's deployment to the southern region. Separately, on Saturday, the Lebanese Army reported that, in coordination with UNIFIL, it had removed Israeli-placed earthen berms and reopened several roads in the outskirts of Mais Al-Jabal in the Marjayoun district that had been blocked by Israeli occupation forces.
