Calls for justice for Beirut port blast victims and the issuance of the indictment | LIVE

Paul Najjar calls on judiciary to 'assume its responsibilities'

Paul Najjar, who lost his daughter Alexandra in the Beirut port blast, called on Public Prosecutor Mohammad Saab to “assume his responsibilities” and arrest the 70 people expected to be named in the indictment.

He also thanked Justice Minister Adel Nassar for his efforts to advance the investigation. Nassar spent the day with the demonstrators.

Rima Zahed, who lost her brother in the blast, said Aug. 4 is not a “commemoration” but a “reminder” of the tragedy that struck the capital.

The ceremony ended at around 7 p.m.

William Noun calls for those responsible to be 'exposed'

William Noun addressed officials overseeing the Beirut port blast investigation, saying, “The prime minister’s biggest challenge is to lift the veil on those responsible.”

He added that he did not want to “go back” when it comes to those who obstructed the investigation.

Noun calls for 'political cove' to be lifted when arrest warrants are issued

William Noun, whose brother Joe, a firefighter, was killed in the Beirut port blast, questioned how the ammonium nitrate reached the port despite the presence of the army, customs and General Security.

“The port was theoretically under the protection of the army, but the army was absent, as were customs and General Security ... But no one asked how the nitrate got there,” Noun said.

He said he supports President Joseph Aoun and called on him to “lift the political cover” protecting those who will be summoned to appear before the courts.

“I think Hezbollah’s cover is over, but the political cover must be lifted when the 70 arrest warrants are issued,” he added, referring to the warrants expected after the indictment is issued.

'You destroyed the city'

Speaking to the crowd, lawyer Cecile Roukoz denounced those she accused of obstructing the Beirut port blast investigation.

“Justice will be served. And those named in the indictment must stand trial. You destroyed the city,” she said, drawing applause from the crowd.

Addressing former minister Ali Hassan Khalil, one of those suspected of links to the blast, Roukoz urged him to “stop believing he is above the law.”

She also accused Wafic Safa, former head of Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit, of obstructing the investigation. “His place is in prison, not among the people,” she said.

Roukoz also called on President Joseph Aoun to enforce arrest warrants once they are issued in the indictment.

In video:

Lebanese Army pays tribute to Beirut port blast victims

The Lebanese Army paid tribute to the victims of the Beirut port blast and laid a wreath at the memorial dedicated to them at the site of the disaster, the state-run National News Agency reported.

National anthem played, victims’ names read aloud at Beirut port

Crowds gather at Beirut port to commemorate the victims of the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port blast. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L'Orient-le Jour)

A crowd of demonstrators has gathered outside Beirut port. Following the national anthem, the names of the victims are being read aloud to the crowd.

Fire trucks and demonstrators head toward Beirut port

A fire truck carrying a portraits of firefighters killed in the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port blast heads toward the port on Aug. 4, 2026. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour)

Fire trucks carrying giant portraits of firefighters killed in the Aug. 4, 2020 blast are heading toward the Beirut port from the Karantina fire station.

The group will join demonstrators who marched from Martyrs’ Square to the port, where a stage has been set up for speeches.

Participants are also carrying the traditional giant flag covered with hundreds of signatures. Sahar Baassiri, wife of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, is among the crowd.

March begins from Martyrs’ Square toward Beirut port

A few hundred people have begun walking from Martyrs’ Square toward the Beirut port ahead of a gathering scheduled for 6 p.m.

The march is led by victims’ relatives carrying portraits of their loved ones who were killed in the blast.

Around 300 people gather at Karantina fire station

Relatives of firefighters killed in the Beirut port blast take part in a sit-in at the Karantina fire station in Beirut on Aug. 4, 2026. (Credit: Matthieu Karam)

Around 300 people have gathered at the Karantina fire station in Beirut to pay tribute to the victims of the port blast, including several firefighters, according to our reporter on the ground, Matthieu Karam.

Also present were Sahar Baassiri, wife of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, MP Marwan Hamadeh, and Energy Minister Joe Saddi and Industry Minister Joe Issa al-Khoury.

Firefighters’ barracks commemorate the firefighters killed in the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port blast

Firefighters’ barracks in Karantina on Aug. 4, 2026. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour)

Aug. 4 investigation: Michel Helou criticizes 'slow process'

“There is some disappointment with the slowness of the process,” Michel Helou, president of the National Bloc, told our reporter Suzanne Baaklini.

“It has been 18 months since the new authorities took office, and we expected more. I hope the political leadership will support the judiciary and that all suspects will appear before the courts. This is one of the criteria by which the success or failure of the Salam-Aoun administration will be judged,” he said.

When could the Beirut port blast indictment finally be issued?

Justice Minister Adel Nassar says the indictment could come within 60 to 90 days. Read more about the investigation, the push for accountability and what remains before a trial can begin 👉 here.

Why aren’t those responsible already behind bars?

Crowds gather in commemoration for the victims of the Aug.4, 2020 explosions. (Credit Mathieu Karam)

Crowds are gathering at Martyrs’ Square in Beirut, where patriotic music is being played over loudspeakers. Several officials are present, including Justice Minister Adel Nassar, as well as several opposition MPs.

Mahmoud and Youssef Doughaim, 14, the brother and son of victim Youssef Doughaim, a hairdresser who was killed in Achrafieh on Aug. 4, expressed their anger over the stalled investigation.

“He had three children who miss him terribly. Justice has taken far too long… why aren’t those responsible already behind bars? Without justice, there is only chaos,” they told our reporter on the ground, Suzanne Baaklini.

Liliane Soueidane, a demonstrator who attends the commemoration every year, said she continues to take part “because nothing has changed.”

“We just want a united country and for justice to be served. But until those responsible are tried, I will remain skeptical,” she said.

“I just have one question. If it turns out that Israel was involved in the port crime, can the state maintain the clause preventing it from filing a complaint against Israel under the framework agreement signed in Washington?” asked another demonstrator, Chahid Nakad.

'Why has the indictment not yet been issued?' asks Halima Kaakour

peaking in downtown Beirut, MP Halima Kaakour said she had observed that “several obstacles to justice have been lifted” in the Beirut port blast investigation, describing the development as “positive.”

“None of the complaints against Judge Bitar have succeeded. But we still have serious doubts. Why has the indictment not yet been issued? Why wait until October? It is already too late as it is. As MPs, we cannot intervene in the work of the judiciary, but for now, we are watching from afar,” she told our reporter.

👉After more than five years of proceedings, Judge Tarek Bitar has finally completed his investigation into the Beirut port explosion and is now preparing the indictment he hopes will pave the way to trial.

What changed? Claude Assaf unpacks the obstacles that repeatedly stalled the investigation — and why the case now appears to be entering a decisive moment.

Aug. 4: Shiite cleric Ali Fadlallah calls for full investigation into Beirut blast

Shiite cleric Ali Fadlallah called for the circumstances surrounding the Beirut port blast to be fully investigated as soon as possible and for anyone found responsible or involved to be held accountable, the state-run National News Agency reported.

He called for the investigation to proceed “away from any political or sectarian considerations.”

“All Lebanese, particularly the families of the victims and the injured, have the right to know the full truth and see justice served,” Fadlallah said, warning that the disaster must not be forgotten or swept under the rug without those responsible being held accountable.

“This will serve as a safeguard against the recurrence of similar tragedies that have struck the country at its heart,” he added.

Families of Beirut blast victims gather at Martyrs’ Square

Families of the victims have begun gathering at Martyrs’ Square, carrying portraits of their loved ones killed on Aug. 4, 2020, according to our reporter on the ground, Suzanne Baaklini.

“I have more hope this year that justice will be served. We have been waiting for this moment for six years. And for me, it feels like the first day,” said Samia Matta, the mother of Chadi Matta, a State Security corporal assigned to the Beirut port who was killed in the blast.

“I stopped living on Aug. 4, 2020, and I pray to God that I do not leave this world before finding out who killed our children. This year, Aug. 4 falls on a Tuesday, just as it did in 2020. I hope that is a sign,” she added.

William Noun hopes for indictment in October, Nassar praises Judge Bitar’s work

William Noun, whose brother Joe was killed in the Beirut port blast, said he hopes an indictment will be issued in October. “We thank those who supported us. We are on the right track,” Noun said while attending a commemoration held at the port on Tuesday morning.

Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who was standing alongside Noun, praised the work of Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the port blast investigation, saying he has “done tremendous work.”

“Since the new government was formed, cooperation has resumed between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the investigating judge,” the minister said.

“If the state and the judiciary do not deliver the results of the investigation, they will lose citizens’ trust. It is our duty to strengthen that trust,” he added.

Aug. 4: Minute of silence held at French Embassy

French Ambassador to Lebanon Hervé Magro and embassy staff observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the Beirut port blast, the embassy said on X, aiming to convey a “message of solidarity and hope so that justice may finally be served six years later.”

Aug. 4 investigation: Saad Hariri calls for indictment to be issued

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri called for the indictment in the Beirut port blast investigation to be issued, in a tribute to the victims posted on X.

“Six years later, the sound of the explosion still echoes in our memories. Who caused the Beirut port explosion? Who will deliver justice to the martyrs, the wounded and the victims? When will justice be served? The time has come to issue the indictment and begin the trial,” he said.

Tribute to victims

Lebanese flags fly at half-mast outside the entrance to the Baabda Presidential Palace on Aug. 4, 2026. (Credit: Lebanese Presidency)

The Baabda Presidential Palace released a photograph showing Lebanese flags flying at half-mast outside the presidential palace in tribute to the victims of the Beirut port blast.

Apostolic nuncio in Lebanon stresses Holy See’s support for victims’ families

Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon Paolo Borgia stressed the Holy See’s “closeness” in supporting the families of the victims, in remarks made during a ceremony held this morning at Beirut port.

“We must have hope and strongly demand that the truth be brought to light over this tragedy, because the families and all Lebanese people have the right to know the truth,” he said.

Geagea: 'Our main consolation is the promise that an indictment will be issued in the coming months'

On the sixth anniversary of the Beirut port explosion, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea offered his condolences to the victims’ families.

“Our main consolation this year is the promise from the highest judicial authorities that an indictment will be issued in the coming months, after which trials can begin and those responsible will be punished as they should be,” he said.

“Even 60 years after the port explosion, this tragedy will remain etched in our collective consciousness,” the Lebanese Forces leader added.

US Embassy: Pursuit of truth over Aug. 4 blast 'essential to building a stronger Lebanon'

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon paid tribute to the victims of the Beirut port blast, expressing its “solidarity with their families and communities who continue to fight for the truth to come to light and for justice to be served.”

“Their pursuit is essential to building a stronger, more stable and more prosperous Lebanon,” the embassy said.

“Six years ago, the Beirut port explosion killed more than 200 people, injured thousands and forever changed the face of the city,” the U.S. Embassy said.

Annual commemoration of the Aug. 4 tragedy at 6 p.m. outside Beirut port

A commemoration will be held at 6 p.m. today outside Beirut port, at the request of the victims’ families.

The annual sit-in will be preceded by two gatherings at 4 p.m., one at the Beirut Fire Brigade station and another at Martyrs’ Square. The two gatherings will converge at 6 p.m. outside the port, where a ceremony will be held.

Hajjar expresses solidarity with victims’ families

Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar paid tribute to the “martyrs” of the port explosions, expressing his “solidarity with their families, the wounded and all those affected.”

“We reaffirm our full cooperation with the judiciary to uncover the truth and deliver justice,” he said.

Brig. Gen. Sami Nassif, representing the interior minister, laid flowers at the memorials dedicated to the Beirut firefighters killed in the blast and to the victims from General Security.

Saddi calls for truth on port tragedy

“Another year has passed since the Aug. 4 crime, and truth and justice remain absent, while the pain has not eased,” Energy and Water Minister Joe Saddi wrote on X.

He called for the Beirut port explosions to be fully investigated, saying that “there can be no genuine restoration of trust in the state without justice.”

Rajji: 'Beirut awaits justice without compromise'

Foreign Minister Joe Rajji expressed his “solidarity with the wounded and the families of the victims who are still waiting for justice,” six years after the Aug. 4 tragedy.

“We remain faithful to the blood of the martyrs until the full truth is revealed. What happened was not the result of chance, but a crime preceded by negligence and conspiracy, and followed by delays and foot-dragging that continue to prevent the truth from coming to light,” Rajji wrote on X.

“Beirut awaits justice without compromise and a truth that will not be held hostage to calculations, fear, concealment and inaction,” he added.

Morning commemorations held at port and Beirut Fire Brigade station

Relatives of Aug. 4 victims held a sit-in at 10 a.m. inside Beirut port, in the presence of ambassadors from countries that lost nationals in the twin blasts, Justice Minister Adel Nassar and Beirut Bar Association President Imad Martinos.

The ambassadors laid wreaths at a memorial plaque erected by the Lebanese Army at the port bearing the names of those killed in the tragedy.

Another sit-in was held at the Beirut Fire Brigade station, a short distance from the port, in the presence of victims’ families.

Welcome to our live coverage

Welcome to our live coverage of the sixth anniversary of the Aug. 4, 2020 explosions at Beirut port.

We will follow the commemorations and demonstrations planned throughout the day, as well as reactions to developments in the investigation.