Eiffel Tower of Debris Cleared from Beirut Port

French and Lebanese soldiers have cleared 8,000 tons of steel and concrete equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower from the Beirut port after it was devastated by a monster explosion. (AFP)
French and Lebanese soldiers have cleared 8,000 tons of steel and concrete equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower from the Beirut port after it was devastated by a monster explosion. (AFP)
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Eiffel Tower of Debris Cleared from Beirut Port

French and Lebanese soldiers have cleared 8,000 tons of steel and concrete equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower from the Beirut port after it was devastated by a monster explosion. (AFP)
French and Lebanese soldiers have cleared 8,000 tons of steel and concrete equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower from the Beirut port after it was devastated by a monster explosion. (AFP)

French and Lebanese soldiers cleared 8,000 tons of steel and concrete equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower from Beirut port which was devastated by a monster blast, an officer said Wednesday.

Efforts have focused recently on clearing the parts of the port worst affected by the massive August 4 explosion that ripped across swathes of Beirut and killed more than 180 people.

"It took me four days to clear 8,000 tons of concrete and steel," said Lieutenant Paulin, a French officer coordinating clearing operations at the port.

"8,000 tons since we got here five days ago, that's the equivalent of the weight of the Eiffel Tower," said Paulin, who belongs to a French civil engineering regiment.

The Tonnerre, a huge French amphibious helicopter carrier, arrived in Beirut earlier in August with dozens of trucks and heavy machinery to clear the debris.

The blast, one of the largest in recent history, levelled entire sectors of the port, created a 43-meter-deep crater that was covered by the sea, and sent a shockwave that damaged property and wounded people several miles away.

Colonel Yusef Haidar of the Lebanese army said the port, on which the country usually relies for around 90 percent of its imports, was currently operating at almost half of its capacity.

"Last week, it was 30 percent, today we're talking around 45 percent," he said during a news conference inside the port.

Three weeks after the blast, which was widely blamed on negligence by the Lebanese state, the port was still a sea of wrecked cars, mangled containers and collapsed warehouses.

French and Lebanese soldiers could be seen salvaging goods and sorting them in such a way that traders and insurance experts can visit and make loss assessments in the coming days.



Britain 'Taking Forward' Gaza Food Airdrop Plan, Says PM Starmer's Office

A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
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Britain 'Taking Forward' Gaza Food Airdrop Plan, Says PM Starmer's Office

A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday spoke to his French and German counterparts and outlined UK plans to get aid to people in Gaza and evacuate sick and injured children, his office said.

"The prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance," a statement said, AFP reported.

In a phone conversation, Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza "which they agreed is appalling".

"They all agreed it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace," according to a readout released by Downing Street.

"They discussed their intention to work closely together on a plan.... which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region. They agreed that once this plan was worked up, they would seek to bring in other key partners, including in the region, to advance it," it added.

The discussion comes a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip, calling it a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience".

Aid groups have warned of surging cases of starvation, particularly among children, in war-ravaged Gaza, which Israel placed under an aid blockade in March amid its ongoing war with Hamas. That blockade was partially eased two months later.

The trickle of aid since then has been controlled by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.