Lebanon: Massive explosion in Beirut, at least 50 dead, 1000s injured, Hizballah ‘already in the limelight’
AUG 4, 2020 4:30 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER
Hizballah weapons and explosives stored for the next jihad against Israel? Possibly.
“Beirut blast: Massive explosion shakes Lebanon’s capital; at least 50 dead, thousands injured,” by Danielle Wallace and Bradford Betz, Fox News, August 4, 2020:
A massive explosion shook Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 50 people and injuring thousands of others while flattening much of the port, damaging buildings across the capital, and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky.
The cause of the explosion remains unclear. The Lebanese Red Cross tweeted that more than 30 teams were responding to the scene of the blast via ambulances.
The health minister said at least 50 people were killed and over 2,700 were injured….
Abbas Ibrahim, chief of Lebanese General Security, said the explosion might have been caused by highly explosive material that was confiscated from a ship some time ago and stored at the port. Local television channel LBC said the material was sodium nitrate….
Witnesses reported seeing a strange orange-colored cloud over the site after the explosion. Orange clouds of toxic nitrogen dioxide gas often accompany an explosion involving nitrates.
Video taken by residents showed a fire raging at the port, sending up a giant column of smoke, illuminated by flashes of what appear to be fireworks. Local TV stations reported that a fireworks warehouse was involved.
The fire then appeared to catch at a nearby building, triggering a more massive explosion, sending up a mushroom cloud and a shock wave.
Hours after the explosion ambulances were still carrying away the wounded. Officials said the city’s hospitals were filled to capacity….
The cause of the blast is under investigation but Hezbollah is already in the limelight, multiple intelligence sources told Fox News.
“There are cars with dead people in the streets under rubble, and the medical infrastructure was already at full speed due to the pandemic and lack of supplies,” one source in the region said.
Another source told Fox News that the port was unofficially controlled by Hezbollah, thus pointing out that other adverse players in the region could have played a role.
An Israeli government official said Israel “had nothing to do” with the blast. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. Israeli officials usually do not comment on “foreign reports.”… |
