by Fady Noun

A delegation of relatives of those killed in the port explosion received in private audience by Francis this morning. The pontiff's closeness in the fight against impunity and obstacles to the investigation. This was followed by a Mass celebrated by the Secretary of State Card. Parolin. A meeting that follows a day of tension (and war) between Israel and Hezbollah. Nasrallah: crossed "all red lines".

Beirut (AsiaNews) - On the occasion of the fourth anniversary (recently passed) of the devastating explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate at the port of Beirut, on August 4, 2020, a delegation of relatives of the victims is being received today, August 26, in a private audience by Pope Francis in the Vatican.

The traumatic event that has caused a deep wound in the Lebanese population, with its 235 victims, thousands of injured and the destruction of entire neighborhoods of the capital, with relatives - and activists - asking for all these years, and so far in vain, justice and truth about the accident.

 "It is first of all a visit of thanksgiving" Dr. Nazih el-Adem, whose daughter Krystel was killed by the explosion in the prime of her life, confides to AsiaNews on the eve of his departure.

"Every year, on the date of the tragedy, on the occasion of the Angelus prayer, the pontiff - he continues - remembers this crime and asks that justice take its course; we could only thank him personally”.

The Pope repeated this request today: "With you I ask for truth and justice, which have not yet arrived. We all know that the issue is complicated and delicate, and that there are conflicting powers and interests. But truth and justice must prevail over all. With you -Pope Francis added during the meeting - I feel the pain of still seeing so many innocent people dying every day because of the war in your region, in Palestine, in Israel, and Lebanon is paying the price. Every war leaves the world worse than it found it. War is always a failure, a failure of politics, a failure of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a defeat before the forces of evil. With you, I implore from heaven the peace that men are struggling to build on earth. I implore you for the Middle East and for Lebanon".

Dr. Adem addressed the Pope on behalf of the entire delegation. He stressed the need for the investigation into the explosion to no longer be hindered by the political class, which has direct responsibility or at least an attitude of negligence in the disaster.

Around 20 formal objections have been lodged against the investigating judge Tarek Bitar to prevent him from carrying out the investigation, which includes the questioning of ministers, former ministers and senior public officials who are also members or close collaborators of the Shiite tandem Amal-Hezbollah.

Fight against impunity

“We are fighting against impunity,” says lawyer Cécile Roukoz, also a member of the delegation that is being received this morning by the pontiff and whose brother Joseph, a father, was killed by the explosion while he was in his office at the port. “We are opening our hearts and telling the tragedy to Pope Francis and the Vatican, because they are the highest moral authority in the world, to ask - he explains - that impunity does not take precedence over the law”.

For Dr. Nazih el-Adem, it is not excluded that, in despair, the committee of the parents of the victims will decide to turn to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to establish the truth and obtain justice. At the end of the private audience, the delegation participated in a mass in suffrage for the victims of the explosion celebrated by the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, at the end of which he received them for a personal meeting.

The delegation is made up of about twenty people and will be accompanied by some leading ecclesiastical figures of the Lebanese Christian community. Among them will also be one of its most convinced spokesmen, William Noun, brother of firefighter Joe Noun. Together with several of his companions, he was called to fight the fire that broke out inside the warehouse where the nitrate was stored. In homage to their sacrifice and as a testimony of solidarity, a delegation of firefighters from Rome participated in the mass officiated by the cardinal. The apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, Msgr. Paolo Borgia, was also be present at the audience and leaded the delegation in the meeting with Card. Parolin.

According to AsiaNews sources who have received more than one response, the visit and the audience have an exclusively pastoral dimension and aim to show the people affected by the tragedy the Pope's spiritual support.

However, it is equally obvious that the papal audience will give greater visibility to the cause of the relatives of the victims, who are fighting against the impunity and widespread silence of the ruling class and part of the Lebanese judiciary. Pope Francis has repeatedly reminded the world of the cause of the relatives of the victims of the explosion.

During the Angelus prayer on August 4, the pontiff said with renewed vigor: "Even today the Lebanese people suffer so much! I am thinking in particular of the families of the victims of the explosion in the port of Beirut. I hope that justice and truth will be served soon.”

Israel’s attack

The private hearing is taking place in a difficult, not to say explosive, regional context, especially in the aftermath of the bombing of Tel Aviv by Hezbollah, in response to the assassination, on July 30, of one of its military leaders, Fouad Chokr. The high-ranking member of the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement was hit by a radio-controlled missile aimed at his home in Haret Hreik, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

This attack was considered by Hezbollah to be a violation of the tacit rules of engagement agreed with Israel: they exclude in particular the bombing of civilian residential areas and confine the exchange of fire to a depth of 10-12 km on both sides of the “Blue Line”, which serves as the border between Lebanon and Israel. 

The state of alert declared yesterday in the Land of Cedars during Israel's preventive attack and Hezbollah's military response - with the launch of hundreds of rockets - was revoked a few hours after the very heavy firefight between the two sides.

The impact of Hezbollah's operation was contained - and minimized - by the Israeli military authorities, who responded by playing in advance with massive retaliatory bombings against Lebanon.

Commenting on the operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of a "further step" to "change" the situation on the northern front of the conflict. In the late afternoon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah responded, accusing Israel of having crossed "all the red lines" and being "the only one responsible for the escalation", finally promising a further response.