Beirut blast: The entire Lebanese government will fire deadly within hours, says minister

The entire Lebanese cabinet is set to respond to last week’s devastating explosion at the port of Beirut, which killed hundreds of people and injured thousands more.

The news was initially announced by Health Minister Hamad Hassan who told reporters after a cabinet meeting that Prime Minister Hassan Diab would go to the presidential palace to “hand over the resignation on behalf of all ministers.”

Mr. Diab is expected to address the nation at 7:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. BST), his office said.

The Lebanese government’s government had to deal with rising pressure from angry civilians to resign after it erupted on Tuesday the explosion was caused by a fire that left a 2,700 tonne mined supply of explosive ammonium nitrate that authorities knew .

The fury is only compounded because the government is accused of not doing much to help the 300,000 people who were made homeless rather than those whose businesses and livelihoods were destroyed.

The streets of Beirut have been ravaged in the past two days by anti-government protests as protesters and members of the security forces clashed outside parliament, as have several ministries trying to occupy civilians.

The blast, located near the port of Beirut, is thought to be one of the single largest non-nuclear explosions in modern history. It killed at least 160 people and injured about 6,000, in addition to destroying the country’s main port and damaging large parts of the capital.

Losses from the blast are estimated at between $ 10 billion and $ 15 billion, and nearly 300,000 people were left homeless in the immediate aftermath.

At the rallies, protesters holding their noses told The Independent that they blamed the horrific incident on rampant corruption within the ruling elite. They said they were afraid that the 250 million euros raised by the international community at a virtual pleasure conference hosted by France would end up angering the authorities and not helping the people.

About 20 people have been arrested over the blast, including the head of Lebanon’s customs department and its predecessor, as well as the head of the port. Dozens of people were interviewed, including two former cabinet ministers, according to government officials.

Public Ministry Ghassan El Khoury on Monday began questioning Generation Tony Saliba, the head of State Security. It did not provide further details, but other generals are being asked.

Before the full resignation of the government, at least three ministers had been ousted, including Environment Minister Damianos Kattar, who is a close aide to Prime Minister Diab.