William Noun and Peter Bou Saab confirm attack by gunmen after Aug. 4 commemoration

BEIRUT — Following the commemorative march marking the fifth anniversary of the Aug. 4, 2020, explosion at Beirut Port on Monday, William Noun and Peter Bou Saab, both brothers of victims of the tragedy, confirmed that they were attacked by armed men shortly after the end of the rally organized by the victims' families.

The incident occurred near the port shortly after the conclusion of the official gathering organized by families of the victims. According to Noun, he and Saab were leaving the area with their families when a group of three men began arguing with Noun’s cousin. The altercation quickly escalated.

“We were leaving the gathering when a group of three men got into a verbal fight with my cousin, who was with us, and they pulled out guns,” Noun said in an interview with Al-Jadeed on Monday night.

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“So we did what was normal — we were with our families — we followed them, beat them up, and handed them over to the authorities.”

Speaking to This is Lebanon on Monday night, Saab confirmed they were attacked by an armed individual and later went to the Gemmayze police station to report the incident and give statements.

Kataeb MP Nadim Gemayel visited Noun afterward to check on his condition, according to a statement from the Kataeb Party.

Attempts by L'Orient Today to contact both Noun and Bou Saab for further comment were unsuccessful.

During Monday’s commemoration, Noun once again called for unity around the cause of justice, stating: “We hope Hezbollah has returned to its Lebanese roots. We want everyone to stand with us on this issue.”

Hezbollah is blamed by its detractors for being responsible for the transport and storage of ammonium nitrate that caused the deadly explosion on Aug. 4, 2020. The party denies these accusations, while the investigation continues, and several security and political officials have been indicted by Judge Tarek Bitar, some of whom are close to the party.

Noun thanked the ministers for their participation in the ceremony, including Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine, who is affiliated with Hezbollah, while asking him "not to stab in the back" the victims' relatives. Noun then stated that "the victims' relatives cannot forget those who obstructed the investigation," including Hezbollah and its allies. Addressing Judge Tarek Bitar, who is in charge of the investigation, he said: "If your indictment is not going to tell us the whole truth, let's go and demonstrate in front of your house."

Hundreds of people, including ministers and former ministers, joined Monday's march to honor the victims and renew calls for accountability five years after one of the most devastating non-nuclear explosions in history rocked Beirut at 6:08 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2020.

Noun has been a prominent public figure in the fight for justice since the Aug. 4, 2020, explosion, which killed at least 235 people and injured thousands more. He has regularly led protests calling for accountability and has been vocal in his criticism of political interference in the stalled investigation.

In January 2023, Noun was briefly arrested after declaring on live television that he was "ready to blow up the Justice Palace" out of frustration over the lack of progress in the probe. He was later released on bail.

On Aug. 4, 2020, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history devastated entire neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital. This disaster, which has become a symbol of Lebanon's culture of impunity, was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tons of ammonium nitrate used as fertilizer were being carelessly stored, despite repeated warnings to senior officials. President Joseph Aoun said Monday that the Lebanese state was "committed to unveiling the whole truth, regardless of the obstacles or high positions involved."