Firefighters Douse Remains of Huge Beirut Port Fire

Smoke rises over Beirut's port area as seen from Sin-el-fil, Lebanon September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam
Smoke rises over Beirut's port area as seen from Sin-el-fil, Lebanon September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam
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Firefighters Douse Remains of Huge Beirut Port Fire

Smoke rises over Beirut's port area as seen from Sin-el-fil, Lebanon September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam
Smoke rises over Beirut's port area as seen from Sin-el-fil, Lebanon September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam

Lebanese firefighters and army helicopters on Friday put out the remains of a huge fire at Beirut Port that angered citizens who remain in shock a month after a massive blast devastated the port and the surrounding area.

Thursday's fire, which officials said was sparked by welding during repair work after last month's port explosion, covered several districts of Beirut in a huge cloud of black, acrid smoke, causing panic in a city still on edge after the massive Aug. 4 blast.

Interim port chief Bassem al-Kaissi told a local TV station that the fire "started with oil containers before moving on to tires.”

The civil defense said in a statement that firefighters had extinguished the flames on Friday morning after working through the night, and were cooling the site to avoid it flaring up again.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said at a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council held at Baabda Palace on Thursday night that the fire could have been caused by sabotage, technical error or negligence. He called for a swift investigation.

Thursday's blaze comes just two days after another smaller fire at the port, which the army said took hold of a mix of rubbish, wood and old tires.

Many Lebanese are frustrated that they have yet to be told about any initial findings from an investigation into last month's explosion that killed about 190 people and injured 6,000, and ravaged tens of thousands of homes.

On Thursday, the lead investigating judge listened to the testimonies of caretaker transport and public works minister Michel Najjar and State Security agency head Tony Saliba, the National News Agency said.

The authorities have so far arrested 25 suspects.

Lebanon has rejected an international investigation into the explosion, but its probe is being aided by foreign experts, including from the American FBI and France.

The government resigned after the port blast, and Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib is racing to form a new cabinet by early next week to meet a two-week deadline agreed under French pressure.



Macron Tells Netanyahu Ordeal of Gaza Civilians 'Must End'

 French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region for a working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region for a working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Macron Tells Netanyahu Ordeal of Gaza Civilians 'Must End'

 French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region for a working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region for a working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)

France's President Emmanuel Macron told Israel's leader during a phone call Tuesday that the suffering of Gazan civilians "must end" and that only a ceasefire in Gaza could free remaining Israeli hostages.

"The ordeal the civilian populations of Gaza are going through must end," Macron posted on X after the call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He also called for "opening all humanitarian aid crossings" into the besieged Palestinian territory.

The United Nation has warned that Gaza's humanitarian crisis is spiraling out of control, with no aid having entered the territory for weeks.

Palestinian group Hamas said Monday that Israel had offered a 45-day ceasefire if it releases half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

A Hamas official told AFP that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian fighters disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war, but that this crossed a "red line".

Macron said he told Netanyahu "the release of all hostages" and the "demilitarization of Hamas" were still an absolute priority for France.

He said he hoped for "a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, humanitarian aid, and then finally reopening the prospect of a political two-state solution".

Macron irked Israel last week when he suggested Paris could recognize a Palestinian state during a United Nations conference in New York in June.

Israel insists such moves by foreign states are premature.

But Macron has said he hopes French recognition of a Palestinian state will encourage not just other nations to follow suit, but also countries who do not recognize Israel to do so.

The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is widely seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the decades-old conflict. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three for a future state. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down after Netanyahu returned to power in 2009.

A number of European states have recently recognized a Palestinian state in what is largely a symbolic move aimed at reviving the peace process.