Candles illuminate the portraits of the victims of the Beirut Port explosion during a commemorative concert held in the gardens of the Sursock Palace, a 19th-century building damaged by the explosion and located in the Achrafieh district of Beirut, on Sept. 20, 2020. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
BEIRUT — The wedding reception will ultimately not be held at Sursock Palace this Friday. Facing online outrage, a reception for the wedding of the son of former minister and Amal MP for South Lebanon Ali Hassan Khalil was canceled, as the MP is one of several political figures being prosecuted in the investigation into the Aug. 4 explosion at the port of Beirut. The blast ravaged large parts of the Lebanese capital, including Sursock Palace itself.
The tragedy, caused by a fire that ignited hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port for years without proper safety measures, claimed more than 235 lives, injured at least 6,500 others, and destroyed or damaged 77,000 buildings in Beirut. Built in 1860, Sursock Palace, which hosts private events, was heavily damaged in the blast before being renovated. Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane, the owner, was injured in the explosion and died from her injuries on Aug. 31, 2020. Khalil, subject to an arrest warrant, has consistently refused to appear before the judiciary. He has also been under U.S. sanctions since 2020 for his ties to Hezbollah.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the management of Sursock Palace explained they were unaware at first of who the groom’s father was until an invitation was circulated online. “We were contacted by relatives of the victims of Aug. 4 who objected to the event taking place,” the management explained.
Online, two different versions of the same statement from Sursock Palace are circulating, both accompanied by a photo showing the destruction the palace suffered in the Aug. 4 blast. The first explains that both parties "mutually decided to cancel the event," while the second, currently posted on the palace’s social media, states the venue was "informed that the family had decided to cancel the event some time ago."
Marrying 'his son while trampling on the remains of Ali Taher'
Meanwhile, the affair has grown on social media, sometimes turning into a sectarian debate and prompting the MP to respond. In a statement picked up by several local media outlets, Ali Hassan Khalil denounced "smear campaigns" targeting him and "entirely fabricated stories," insisting the marriage had already been concluded "several days ago at the bride’s home in the presence of both families." He also said a reception that had been planned at the family home in Khiam, southern Lebanon, in June was canceled "due to the current situation," referring to the war between Israel and Hezbollah, noting that Israel has almost entirely destroyed the once vibrant border village. Reached by L'Orient-Le Jour, Hassan Khalil was unavailable for comment.
Tracy Najjar, whose three-year-old daughter Alexandra was killed in the explosion, spoke out a few days ago against the initial ceremony. "Ali Hassan Khalil is under investigation...because he may have known about the presence of ammonium nitrate and did nothing about it," she wrote on Instagram. "He has repeatedly refused to appear before Judge Tarek Bitar...," Najjar recalled, condemning "the insensitivity and symbolism" of such a celebration, "in a neighborhood where people died, were injured and lost their homes."
For other online users, the outrage is about holding such an extravagant event during wartime, as much of southern Lebanon today is destroyed and occupied by Israel and tens of thousands of southerners are displaced. "Ali Hassan Khalil is marrying off his son while trampling on the dead bodies of Ali Taher," one user accused on Facebook. The reference is to the strategic hill overlooking Nabatieh in the South, which was heabily bombed by Israel last Thursday night.
Other criticism took on a sectarian tone. "This man is one of the staunchest supporters of the Iranian revolution and Hezbollah and never misses an opportunity to criticize 'political Maronitism' and anything relating to Christians. So why didn’t he hold the marriage and festivities in his hometown? Why not in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in Baalbeck, near Ain al-Tineh [the residence of Amal leader and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri] or in Khaldeh?" another user asked on X.
Amid the uproar, Khiam’s municipal council defended the Hassan Khalil family, denouncing a "malicious smear campaign" against the MP and stating that he "has always been there to support his region’s population and spared no effort to alleviate difficulties related to population displacement, especially in Khiam."
The management of Sursock Palace, for its part, regrets how the affair unfolded: "The palace will continue to host everyone, without distinction or exception. This palace is part of Beirut and its history, and its memory is larger than disagreements and divisions."
