At Least 60 Killed, 2,500 Injured by Massive Explosions in Beirut

Update: Lebanon's PM says the explosion was due to amonium nitrate being left in a warehouse for six years:

"Lebanese Prime Minister says #Beirut explosions caused by an estimated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate left unsecured for 6 years in a warehouse. He vows to punish officials responsible. 50+ dead, 3,000 injured, hospitals overwhelmed."

Tipped by "Xander Crews."

Powderkeg.

Two massive explosions rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. More than 60 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured, with bodies buried in the rubble, officials said.

Hours later, ambulances still carried away the wounded as army helicopters helped battle fires raging at the port. A soldier at the port, who asked not to be named, told AFP: "It's a catastrophe inside. There are corpses on the ground. Ambulances are still lifting the dead."

Noah Pollack speculates that this was an attack on a guided missile site by Israel, and speculates further that as Israel fears a Biden win, it is forced to take aggressive action in anticipation of the pro-Iran Biden coming into power.

So: Leftwingers are destabilizing the Middle East.

But Trump's TONE!!!

Noah Pollak @NoahPollak Beirut explosion is in area known to be used by Hezbollah for its long-range precision-guided missile project, which Israel publicly calls a red line. I have no specific knowledge, but would be surprised if explosives that detonated were not associated w/ that project. 1/

Accident or sabotage? Unclear. But one reason explosives were there in 1st place is Obama-Biden nuclear deal, which gave Iran & its terror proxy Hezbollah billions & unleashed them in the region. One of Hezb’s top priorities has been building sophisticated missiles. 2/

The nuclear deal harmed the security of Israel and Arab states alike -- but it was implemented in 2015, Trump admin won the 2016 election, and then reimposed sanctions, cracked down on Iranian terror, and in 2018 pulled out of the nuke deal. 3/

But now it looks like Biden is going to win the election and bring back Obama’s Iran deal crew. He promises to engage w/ Iran, re-enter nuke deal, and continue the Obama foreign policy that makes everyone in the region targeted by Iran feel threatened. 4/

So earlier this summer we saw nuclear infrastructure in Iran catch fire and blow up. And now massive explosions in Beirut that likely eliminated major Hezbollah arms and explosives stockpiles. There may be a reason this stuff is happening. 5/

One possibility is that states in the region who are threatened by a return to Obama-Biden ME foreign policy are taking precautions. They are trying to weaken Iran and its advanced weapons projects as much as possible before a less friendly new admin takes over. 6/

As many of us said at the time, the Iran deal is terrible for peace and stability, because – to state the obvious – it empowers the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world with cash and room to maneuver. The Beirut explosion may be a result of exactly that instability.

Final thought: I have visited Beirut on several occasions. It's a beautiful and interesting city with many good people living there. Prayers for its residents. Most of them do not want to live like this, and are themselves victims of Iran and Hezbollah.

Update: NaCly Dog offers his opinion:

23 OK. Fire first. Looks like fireworks or small arms going off in a big fire.

Then an ammonium nitrate explosion. The red color was from NO2, and is distinctive. The third one looks like the grain elevator went in a grain dust explosion. Those can be around 0.5 to 1 KT.

The north side of the grain elevator looks like an explosion from within the elevator. You need to see the video from the East looking west from the hills to the port. The top of the grain elevator is another place to look. I have not seen that featured yet.

I think I'm missing the third explosion he's talking about.

Below, video of the truly massive explosion.

Update: jsg linked this view of the blast, which really demonstrates its massive size.

More from him:

posted by Ace at 05:41 PM

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