The deadly blast in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, tallied at least 137 dead people plus more than 5,000 wounded individuals. Such an explosion caused pervasive losses of the Lebanese economy.
However, the transnational community communicated its empathy and camaraderie regarding the serious, yet tragic incident. Country leaders around the world have been sending international aid to help Lebanon rebuild its destroyed buildings and make medical services available among those who received injuries. These country leaders, then, vowed to help the country to recuperate and make progress.
FRANCE. The office of President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would send six tonnes of health equipment necessary for the hospitals to save lives and wounded individuals. As well, France would, also, send 55 security personnel plus 10 emergency doctors to Beirut to ensure that medical services would materialize. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian of France said on Twitter that France would always be on the side of Lebanon and its people. He, furthermore, said that France has been ready to offer assistance whatever the Lebanese authorities needed.
THE UNITED STATES. President Donald Trump expressed that the United States stood ready to provide support to Lebanon. However, he could not refrain to describe that the massive explosion could be a possible attack. Even though no direct evidence to substantiate this allegation, President Trump expressed at a White House briefing that the blast looked like a terrible attack. On the contrary, two US officials, names withheld, cited that it was uncertain where Trump received his information. The officials, also, said that the lethal explosion would back up what the Lebanese representatives openly indicated.
THE UNITED KINGDOM. Prime Minister Boris Johnson asserted that Britain would stand all set to offer any support to help Beirut. As well, British Junior Education Minister Nick Gibb articulated his sentiments to the BBC radio that Britain has been working instantly to deliver financial and technical help to Lebanon.
IRAN. President Hassan Rouhani stood ready to help Lebanon. He mentioned that he would make medical aid available to Lebanon to help treat the wounded. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his sentiments with thoughts and prayers via Twitter.
SAUDI ARABIA. The foreign ministry of Saudi Arabia vowed to offer full support and solidarity to Lebanon and its people.
TURKEY. Mustafa Ozbek, an Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) helped search for the survivors to dig through the debris and to recover dead bodies. The group did, also, organize a kitchen at a Palestinian expatriate camp in Lebanon to distribute food to those victims and those who needed most. He added that the group assisted with an ambulance to transfer patients to the hospitals. Furthermore, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was all set to deliver humanitarian aid.
Among those countries that helped Lebanon, PALESTINE under the governance of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas; ISRAEL from the Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi; EGYPT under the governance of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; QATAR; KUWAIT; TUNISIA; RUSSIA; NETHERLANDS; and CYPRUS.
References
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- MEE and agencies. (5 August 2020). Beirut explosion: How the world has responded. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/lebanon-beirut-explosion-how-world-responded-international-reactions
- Ramzy, A. & Peltier, E. (5 August 2020). What we know and don’t know about the Beirut explosions. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/world/middleeast/beirut-explosion-what-happened.html
- BBC News. (7 August 2020). Beirut explosion: Angry residents rage at leaders after the blast. Retrieved August 7, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53673957
