Overview

• After more than two years of delays, Judge Bitar has questioned high-profile suspects including former ministers and security chiefs, marking the investigation’s first substantive progress since early 2021.
• President Joseph Aoun declared August 4 a national day of mourning and pledged to apply the law “without exception,” underscoring official commitment to uncovering the full truth.
• Victims’ families held commemorations at the port site, reading the names of over 220 people killed and renewing demands for transparent and comprehensive judicial proceedings.
• International bodies—the United Nations, European Union, US and British embassies—have called on Lebanon to expedite the inquiry, warning that impunity hampers the country’s recovery.
• Rebuilding in blast-hit neighbourhoods such as Gemmayzé and Mar Mikhaël remains uneven due to insurance disputes and state dysfunction, prompting grassroots and diaspora-funded reconstruction efforts.