Explosion in Beirut

[think positive]

<split from "Our Hierarchy of Interest" thread>

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/04/898969935/massive-explosion-rocks-beirut-damaging-buildings-and-shattering-windows

Didn’t know where to put this, search Brough this up!

The footage looks scarily like 9/11 on a smaller scale. So who did this?
Sounds like Lebanon are already in the shit with Covid and their economy.

As for the title, I first heard of it as a photographer I learn from, Meg Bitton, posted on her page, one of her cameramen is making a film there and was slightly injured.

How nice would it be to wake up to a world as beautiful as the sky looks this morning? I mean, what next?

[David]

I think it’s an apt thread bump, as Lebanon has been in the grip of civil unrest for some time now – but yeah, it’s been a long way from the front pages of the newspapers here, and I’ve barely seen anything posted about the country’s struggles on social media. Seems like this explosion may have been an accident, surprisingly. Pretty awful stuff, and thoughts go out to the victims’ families.

[stui magpie]

^

It was actually the top story on the Herald Sun website this morning and is also on the Aged.

[David]

Yep, likely owing to the death of an Australian.

But while the death toll seems to be of a piece with some of the bombings I mentioned in the first post of this thread, the scale of the blast is also quite horrific. Someone posted this photo on Facebook:

[Sicks Bux]

Another day brings more bad news. It never stops.

[What'sinaname]

It was an impressive explosion, possibly caused by ammonium nitrate.

Makes you also realise what a real State of Disaster is? Massive explosion, lots of deaths, lots of injured and huge amount of physical damage.

As opposed to lots of infections as dickheads don't do what they are told.

[think positive]

[stui magpie]

[David]

I've seen some suggestion that this might have been the cause – basically, another country's problem (a Moldovan ship owned by a Cypriot crewed by Russians and Ukrainians that was abandoned a few years back in the midst of transferring explosives to Mozambique) that Lebanon got stuck with when no other governments wanted to deal with it.

https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2014/4194/crew-kept-hostages-floating-bomb-mv-rhosus-beirut/

[Morrigu]

Hmmm we support Animals Lebanon and follow them and someone posted this link last week - I didnt pay that much attention at that time and I don't know if it is a reputable site but ......

Gantz Instructs IDF to Bomb Lebanese Infrastructure If Hezbollah Harms Soldiers or Civilians

YERUSHALAYIM - Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Thursday instructed the IDF to bomb Lebanese infrastructure if Hezbollah harms IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians.

A senior defense official told Yisrael Hayom that Gantz issued the order to prepare such a response during meetings on Thursday with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and other members of the general staff.

Tensions have rapidly escalated between Israel and the terrorist organization since the death of Hezbollah terrorist Ali Kamel Mohsen Jawad, along with two other terrorists, during an airstrike on Damascus International Airport earlier this month.

Hezbollah has vowed revenge for Jawad’s death, leading the IDF to move reinforcements to the northern border in preparation for an attack by the Shiite terror organization.

In Thursday’s meetings, Kochavi presented the IDF’s position on the matter, saying Israel must hold Hezbollah and the Lebanese government responsible for any future attack and its consequences.

According to the defense official, Israel didn’t kill the Hezbollah terrorists who attempted to carry out an attack in the Har Dov area on Monday, and didn’t release footage of the incident, in order to give the terror group a chance to save face and de-escalate the situation, but that Hezbollah was not taking the opportunity.

“If [Hezbollah] tries perpetrating another attack, we will see an unusual response from the IDF against [the organization] and the country of Lebanon,” the official said.

https://hamodia.com/2020/07/31/gantz-instructs-idf-bomb-lebanese-infrastructure-hezbollah-harms-soldiers-civilians/

Just awful as if they didn't have enough to cope with already

[David]

Israel have certainly been responsible for a lot of atrocities in Lebanon, and have indeed been gearing up for more attacks, but it seems pretty much certain that they had nothing to do with this – even Hezbollah have said so.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-involvement-in-massive-beirut-blast-ruled-out-by-both-sides/

[Jezza]

Just seen the footage of the explosion, which was insane.

Being reported that Cyprus felt the ripples of the blast, and they're 240km away from Lebanon.

Lebanon's PM said that there was 2750 tonnes of stored ammonium nitrate. For comparison to demonstrate how powerful that is, the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995 was just 2.5 tonnes.

[Jezza]

https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1290676395316850688

[David]

[stui magpie]

^

It's pretty clear from that, that the fire that attracted the camera ignited the fertiliser.