Beirut Residents Awake to Nightmarish Morning Following Port Blast

Lebanon is still grappling with the horrific explosion that rocked Beirut last night, killing at least 100 people and injuring over 4,000. According to official reports, nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, stored negligently at the main Beirut port, ignited in the early hours of Tuesday evening, leading to the colossal blast that shook the capital and indeed the country. Entire blocks were wiped out, buildings eviscerated, thousands buried under rubble. Countries the world over, from Iran to Israel, offered immediate assistance and aid to the anguished Middle Eastern land, already smarting from historical economic woes and on the brink of social and financial collapse. Despite Lebanese and Israeli officials vehemently denying any involvement of foul play in the explosion, United States President Donald Trump said in a press conference on Tuesday that “this was not some kind of manufacturing explosion. … Our generals … seem to think it was an attack, a bomb of some kind.”