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Connect the World

Lebanese Health Minister Says Many People Are Still Missing; Massive Explosions Kills At Least 100, Thousands Wounded; Health Minister: Hundreds Reported Missing After Explosion; Blast Injuries Parishioners At Catholic Church; Lebanon's Hospitals Overwhelmed By COVID-19, Blast Victims; Lebanon's Troubles Often Comes Down To Corruption. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 05, 2020 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson.

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Well, this hour in Beirut, at least, 100 dead, thousands are wounded. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Beirut is

a shell-shocked city today, dealing with a level of destruction that the Lebanese Capital's Governor likens to the atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima

and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

The massive blast at a Port warehouse Tuesday evening killed at least 100 people, and that number is sure to rise with many people still missing.

4,000 are wounded, and the explosion leveled large swaths of the city.

Well, here is what that city looks like today. The pictures just mind- numbing, the Beirut Governor says 300,000 people are now displaced. As for what may have caused the blast? The Prime Minister points to more than 275

metric tons of ammonium nitrate that was being stored at a port warehouse.

The big questions today are why did it detonate, and why was such a huge whole of what is highly risky, highly explosive, material there to begin

with? Well, the Lebanese Minister has just announced in the past few minutes that officials involved in the Port's storage and security will be

placed under house arrest soon and that comes amid reports that a customs official repeatedly asked for the material to be removed but that the

government took no action.

Ben Wedeman has been reporting on this story since the blast happened just after 6:00 pm yesterday evening. Joining us now from near the blast site,

Ben, where are you, what can you see, and just remind us exactly what happened?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at seven minutes past 6:00 pm, Becky, there was first a tremor, according to the United

States geological survey, 3.3 on the rector scale and then a split second later, this massive shock wave went through much of Beirut, including where

I am, which is in an apartment building overlooking the blast site.

This is an apartment building was the home of an elderly couple in their 70s. But if you look around, they're obviously not here any longer. It's a

jumble of window frames and smashed furniture. In fact, out of view is the bed where the woman - she was watching television when she was severely

wounded by flying glass.

That bed is still stained with her blood. We're told that she's currently in hospital and is about to undergo a second operation. But this really

just brings home how destructive this blast was? Now, this flat overlooks - I'm just going to step out of the way - the scene of the blast.

On the left-hand side, you will see the grain silo that was right next to the warehouse that allegedly contained those 2,750 metric tons of ammonium

nitrate. The grain silo, which held much of the grain stored for Beirut, is destroyed.

[11:05:00]

WEDEMAN: You can see the right-hand side of it completely shaven off. Now, if you look to the right of that, you'll see some water, an inlet of sorts.

That is where the warehouse was. And as a result of that explosion, it's now a crater flooded with water.

Now, we can see there are still ambulances out there, still some rescue crews and would appear investigators from the government searching for

clues as to exactly what happened? But given the level of destruction, it may be difficult to make an early determination of what happened, even

though the government has committed to a transparent investigation.

But for people who have relatives who lost their lives, who were killed, or as you mentioned, the more than 300,000 people made homeless, it's more

than answers that they want, they want accountability. No one knows yet how many people died in Tuesday's blast in Beirut.

The destruction was so extensive, the shock wave felt across the city. The emergency services so overwhelmed, it was up to whoever could help to

provide a bit of comfort to the injured. Open lots turned into field hospitals. The blasts happened just after 6:00 in the evening, with what

started in a port warehouse culminating in an explosion the likes of which worse scared Lebanon has never seen.

The whole house collapsed upon us, this woman says. In an instant lives were lost and livelihoods destroyed. Michelle has come to see what was his

electrical goods store? 40 years, he said. Wars, we've seen woes of every kind, but not like this. As if the economic crisis Coronavirus and the

revolution weren't enough, this tops them all.

Life was already a struggle in Lebanon with its economy and freefall and Coronavirus on the rise and now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADI SHAHLAWI, BAR OWNER: We got here an hour ago and as you can see, it's completely and utterly destroyed. We've been open since October and we've

been fighting every month with different circumstances, economic situation - it's a catastrophe. What is happening in Lebanon is catastrophic right

now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: In the words of the Lebanese American poet Gibran Khalil Gibran, pity the nation. This morning this morning I ran into a friend who is a

surgeon at one of the hospitals that was flooded by the wounded yesterday. He is a young man like me; he worked - started as a doctor, as a surgeon,

during the civil war.

He was here for the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war. He said never in all those times did he receive such a flood of the wounded, and not just lightly

wounded, he said some seriously wounded. Several, he said, died on the operating table. Becky?

ANDERSON: This is - it's almost unbelievable if you didn't know that it were true. You have now been reporting on this for almost exactly 24 hours.

It has just turned through that one-day period since those first shock waves that you felt. You suggested that what people want is some

accountability. Ben, the big question is will they get it?

WEDEMAN: If you look back at Lebanon's history over the last 70 years, Becky, there have been a series of high-profile assassinations, Former

Prime Ministers Riyadh - and Hariri President-Elect like Bashir Gemayel, a variety of people who were assassinated under mysterious circumstances.

And none of those murders, those assassinations, were ever solved. And when you ask people here, do you think that the authorities will get to the

bottom of this disaster, most of them say no, we don't. We have no trust in our government, we have no trust in the politicians of this country, and,

therefore, they shrug.

[11:10:00]

WEDEMAN: They're sort of resigned to the inevitability that if there is an investigation, like the Rafik-Al-Hariri assassination investigation, the

verdict of which was supposed to come out this Friday, but it's taken 15 years to try to get to the bottom of it, they said it will be that all over

again. Talk of an investigation, but the truth, they fear, will never come out. Becky?

ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman on the story for you. Ben, thank you. Well, even for a country devastated by years of civil war, Lebanon as Ben was reporting

has just never seen anything like this.

The United Nations interim force there are reeling it says some of its peace keepers had been seriously injured by the explosion and the U.N.

Chief is offering their condolences to the families of the victims. The Secretary General Antonio Guterres also wants Lebanon as a whole to know it

has his full support.

Jan Kubis U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon and already had plenty on his plate with the pandemic and of course the country's economic crisis.

It's sliding to a near failed before this. Kubis now joins us live and if you can just put into words quite what you are feeling the emotions that

you have today?

JAN KUBIS, U.N. SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR LEBANON: Good afternoon, Becky, and thank you for giving us the opportunity to reach out to the live audience.

I believe that this is an unprecedented devastation. I can say also, based on my lifetime experience of conflicts, this is one of the worst

catastrophes that I saw.

And, yes, at this point of time, the statesmen of - the leaders of the country, are confirming that this is an industrial accident. It must be

investigated. Accountability is a very important thing, indeed, but what is currently very much needed is to provide concrete assistance, humanitarian,

medical assistance and also psychosocial support.

Also rehabilitation to the common people of Lebanon to the Beirutees because you saw how devastated perhaps one-third of the city is? So this is

not only words of sympathy that we had from the Secretary General Guterres but also a very clear offer of active support.

And I can confirm that yesterday already, I discussed it with the Prime Minister and officials of the country the current newly arrived

Humanitarian Coordinator is in close contact with the Deputy Prime Minister, but also with director of possible assistance from the U.N. are

coordinated by the U.N over to you, Becky.

ANDERSON: And the U.N. will coordinate. This will cost money. Words can feel so hollow and empty, as you rightly point out. It is concrete offers

of support, and we are already seeing a number of countries around the region sending in field hospitals, not least Jordan flying in a full field

hospital and the UAE sending in aid.

But as you rightly point out, it is now time to step up and help Lebanon and the Lebanese people. What doesn't surprise me is these stories, these

acts of humanity, these acts of kindness being shown by people on the streets to people who have been injured and to people who need support.

But this is a much, much bigger issue. Jan, you have been quite outspoken about the inadequacies of the political system and how the system has for

so long let the people of Lebanon down. What is your message today to those who run this country?

KUBIS: I will start with a message to the international community. This is not the time for some - this is the time to help Lebanon. I'm very glad and

you mentioned it Becky that many countries already, without waiting for any coordination, without waiting for any requests in a way, except from a plea

from the authorities, they have started to provide humanitarian and medical assistance.

And I can confirm that they are coming to offer some assistance to offer help they are coming from many places, including from Israel.

[11:15:00]

KUBIS: That's something that I would like to note as well. As regards with the country, the leaders, the authorities yes, first the needs of the

people helping the people to deal with this concrete situation. But without thinking long, without thinking about the needs to implement finally

reforms that are needed, still the country before the blast was without electricity in fact that is what the situation.

Now with this disaster, it's even worse. There is a need to introduce and quickly implement basic reforms that will put under abstract the economy of

the country that will move reinforce the social system of the country that is almost nonexistent. This tragedy is just reinforcing this message.

Let's not forget about immediate needs. This is the order of the day. But we must not forget, because of the immediate needs, of the mid and long-

term needs to provide reforms, to introduce reforms, and to have a national support for this kind of reform.

Hopefully this tragedy will bring sense to the minds of many politicians, and finally, they will agree on the way forward instead of sometimes very

visible bickering.

ANDERSON: Well, so many Lebanese that I've spoken to simply do not trust those politicians, they do not trust that leadership, they do not trust

that this is a system that will support a revitalized and rejuvenated Lebanon.

But you are absolutely right to point out in the immediate, in the short term, the immediate needs are those that can be provided by the U.N. and by

countries offering support, and that is clearly an incredibly important point to rise? Thank you, sir.

Well, Lebanon's Health Minister says hundreds of people have been reported missing by their families. One of them is this man. His name is Hasan

Hasrouty pictured here with his daughter Tatiana. Hasrouty worked in the port where the explosion took place.

Now his family cannot find them. Tatiana has been pleading on Twitter for help in locating him and she joins me now live from Beirut. Our wishes are

that you will find your father safe and well. Tell us, where did he work and what do you know at this point?

TATIANA HASROUTY, DAUGHTER OF MAN MISSING AFTER BEIRUT EXPLOSION: Good evening, Becky. Thank you for having me. Well my dad works in the Port of

Beirut. He's in the operation room where they store wheat and grains. We last saw him on Monday night, and he went there Tuesday morning to work,

and we never saw him again.

We probably think he's trapped under the rubble, where the building crackdown and no authorities are searching for him where they are. They say

they don't have the capabilities, they don't have machines or construction machines to remove the rocks to find them, but we know for him and other

workers of his, they are stuck there. Now we have our feelings all over the place. We don't know what to do.

ANDERSON: You've been down to the Port, I know. Just describe the scene, if you will.

HASROUTY: So we were having dinner, and the first explosion happens. It was a matter of seconds that the second happens, and all our windows were

shattered all over the place. When we checked on the TV, they showed the place where my dad works, and we started calling him and he wasn't

answering.

People were calling us, we were calling our dad, and dad wasn't answering. My mom was all over the place, and it was a mess. We don't know how he's

feeling, if he's in pain, if he's asking for help. We don't know how he is, and this is very, very annoying.

[11:20:00]

HASROUTY: It's like a piece of our family is missing and you can't find him. It's really frustrating and devastating. The government didn't listen.

If it wasn't for me I posted a tweet on Twitter, nobody would know my father was there and nobody would know my father is lost now. It's because

of my tweet, the government didn't do anything, and now we are telling them they are under the building, and they aren't searching there.

ANDERSON: And they have told you that they simply do not have the equipment to try and assess what's gone on and try and find your father.

HASROUTY: Yes.

ANDERSON: Tatiana, we are so sorry. Let's hope that at some point very, very soon, either you can contact your father or that he can be found. We

thank you so much for talking to us today. My apologies for the line, Tatiana's Skype is not brilliant, but we've heard your story and our hearts

go out to you. Please send our regards to your mom as well.

HASROUTY: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Just one story that really - a moment in time that really underscores the pain and anguish, the horror that people have experienced,

and the pain and anguish that people are going through in Beirut at present. All the best to Tatiana and her family we've just got time for a

quick break.

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ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World." I'm Becky Anderson. As of now, there are no indications that the blast in Beirut,

that enormous, colossal blast, was an attack. That's according to three U.S. Defense Department officials who spoke to CNN, and despite the U.S.

President Donald Trump telling reporters Tuesday it was, in fact, an attack.

When Mr. Trump was asked if the blast could have been an accident, he doubled down on his claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You called this an attack. Are you confident this was an attack and not an accident?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, it would seem like it based on the explosion. I met with some of our great generals, and they

just seemed to feel that it was. This was not some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event. This was a - seems to be, according to them, they

would know better than I would, but they seem to think it was an attack, a bomb of some kind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, those comments coming late Tuesday, extremely early doors at that point, the explosion itself only happening at seven minutes past

6:00 local time. Senior International Correspondent Sam Kiley has been covering Lebanon for years. Right now he's in Sussex in England.

[11:25:00]

ANDERSON: And Sam you've been speaking with explosive experts piecing together and let's be quite clear about this. It is still early and an

investigation hasn't effectively been launched properly yet. What are these experts telling you about what they believe has happened?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the most telling evidence or expert opinion, I should say, comes from Chris Hunter he is

formally attached to the British Special Forces. He's a bomb disposal expert; he is still practicing training in Syria and Iraq and a leading

authority on the use of ammonium nitrate in bombs, in improvised bombs.

Now what he said in the analysis is very telling. It really had two phases. This was how he described the first phase based on videos of the explosions

that he's analyzed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS HUNTER, AUTHOR AND BOMB DISPOSAL SPECIALIST: The first events, if you like, the great clouds that are coming up, the wisp of clouds, and the base

of it, a fire. You could see a series of sparks and flashes. That's consistent with what we call low explosives, something like fireworks,

something like ammunition you would put in rifles and handguns that sort of thing cooking off.

So it suggest to me that a fire had started, and then whatever was being stored there, something like fireworks or gunpowder or propylene or

ammunition, started to cook off. And if it is in shipping containers what you actually get is effectively a giant pipe bomb when heat is introduced

to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: Now a giant pipe bomb sounds bad enough, but that wasn't the main explosion, Becky, the main explosion is that white ball of force travelling

at supersonic speeds that had flattened so much of Beirut. That's 2,750 tons worth of ammonium nitrate in Chris Hunter's opinion.

And of course we know that nitrate was stored at the Port. We know it isn't there anymore because that part of the Port has been destroyed, so the

summation of experts is that the ammonium nitrate did detonate, possibly almost certainly as an accidental secondary consequence of that initial

fire. We don't know how or why that initial fire was started, Becky?

ANDERSON: Ammonium nitrate of course used in the higher bombings that many of our viewers will remember back in the mid-'90s. How does the amount of

ammonia nitrate used then compare to the stash, the whole that was being stored at the Port in Beirut?

KILEY: Well, in the Oklahoma bombing that killed 168 people, that federal headquarters building there was all but destroyed down one side. That was

involving two tons of fertilizer ammonium nitrate as the main ingredient there.

This storage facility was holding 2,750 tons, so capable of destroying 200 times more area. That is absolutely consistent, Chris Hunter said, the

scale of the devastation in Beirut with the amount of ammonium nitrate known to be there. It is very difficult to get it to explode.

It needs, on that scale, to be very intensely heated so that it all explodes at once rather than burns, and similarly, because it had been

there a long time, it had actually compacted and gone into a solid, and that probably increased the danger if it did ignite.

ANDERSON: Reports suggesting that that whole came off a boat unloaded in Beirut as much as six or seven years ago. Sam, thank you. Sam working on

his sources with what happened on this explosion, where this haul came from and why it was being held at Beirut port which is so close, of course, to

the center of town?

Let me just re-rack the video you may have seen if you've been watching for the past hour of how this explosion interrupted what was a televised

catholic mass?

That was being televised, that mass, because of COVID-19. There were parishioners at Beirut St. Mount Church who were treated for injuries from

the falling debris after what were those terrifying few seconds. Pope Francis is now calling for prayers for Lebanon. Have a listen.

[11:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS, SOVEREIGN OF THE VATICAN CITY STATE: Yesterday in Beirut near the Port, there were massive explosions causing dozens of deaths, wounding

thousands and causing serious destruction. Let us pray for the victims, for their families, and let us pray for Lebanon so that through the dedication

of its social, political and religious elements, it might face this extremely tragic and painful moment. And with the help of the international

community overcome the grave crisis they're experiencing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, up next, hear what the head of a hospital in Beirut has to say about dealing with the victims at a time when, of course, this country,

like everywhere else, is dealing with a pandemic that interview coming up.

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ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World." It is half past 7:00 here in Abu Dhabi. This is our Middle East Broadcasting Hub from where we're

reporting of course on the story of Lebanon. Today many residents of the capital city desperately searching for loved ones the day after an enormous

explosion ripped through the port city.

Here is the moment the blast which had the power of a magnitude 3.3 earthquake. Some leaders in Beirut compared the force to that of an atomic

bomb. At least 100 people have been killed, a number of which tragically is likely to grow.

Thousands have been injured. On possible course it's the ignition of more than 2,000 tons of a fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, which was not properly

stored. Here is how the Prime Minister described the staggering blast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN DIAB, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: A great big shock. People lost their children, their families and their homes. The scale of the disaster that

fell upon us today is more than we can describe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, just last hour, we found out that officials involved in the port's storage and security will now be placed under house arrest, or at

least they will be placed under house arrest soon, as we understand it. Well, hospitals here in and around Beirut are inundated.

They are inundated with the wounded. The Lebanese Health Minister says four of those hospitals or facilities are now out of service because of damage

from the blast, ambulances were brought into the capital from the north and south of the country and the sound of sirens wailing through the night was

the backdrop to what was going on and residents scaring those hospitals that are open in search of family and friends.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IBRAHIM SHAMAS, NEPHEW IS MISSING: My nephew is 29 years old. From 7:00 in the evening, we've been all over every hospital in Beirut, and now we are

waiting for the names to come out and nothing has come out. We don't know if he's dead or alive. We just don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have at least 300 wounded in the hospital right now. We have six operating suites that are still operating right now, and

this keeps filling up with another group that needs attention. We have about four to five in intensive care. We have three that arrived dead.

Every one of our crew, doctors and nurses, are operating. Even administration everyone is working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Let's bring into the head of one of those hospitals treating the wounded. Firass Abiad, the CEO of Rafik Hariri University Hospital. Sir,

thank you for giving us your time on what is clearly an incredibly busy moment for you.

We heard voices there of frustrations of people not being able to find their friends and family, and from staff in one hospital describing the

sort of pressure that they are under. Just explain what you are going through at this point?

FIRASS ABIAD, CEO, RAFIK HARIRI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Absolutely. So when the blast occurs, a lot of the hospitals because of the extent of the blast

were suddenly inundated with tons of casualties that suddenly presented to the emergency room.

And obviously the situation was chaotic, and all patients were being attended to. Initially there were patients coming with less injury but then

the ambulances started arriving and they were bringing patients with much more serious injuries from the blast site.

ANDERSON: How concerned are you that the death toll, which, as I understand it, stands at something like 100 at the moment is likely to grow? We are

talking about 4,000 wounded. Is it likely that those numbers will increase?

ABIAD: I think that it's very likely that those numbers will increase. What we are hearing today from some of the EMS services that are sweeping

buildings, that are in the vicinity of the blasts are in death part is that they are finding bodies, and we expect that we will see - I'm not sure we

will see more survivors, but I think we'll definitely see more bodies coming in.

ANDERSON: And what sort of injuries are you seeing, sir?

ABIAD: So we are seeing all different kinds of injuries. As I said, people got injured mostly from the shattered glass, and because of the impact,

some of them with deliberating injuries some of them were harmful. But we also had patients who were thrown off from their motorcycles or they were

walking and they were just thrown off from the impact.

And also we had patients where we had ceilings coming down. We had some buildings that crashed down. So all of these crashing injuries penetrating

injuries were presenting some - to the emergency rooms.

ANDERSON: And this, of course, lest we forget, at a time when the health service in Lebanon was already under severe pressure as a result of COVID-

19, correct?

ABIAD: Well, there are two pressures. Initially there was the financial crisis that the country is experiencing. And remember at Lebanon and ports

almost 90 percent of its medical supplies. So we were already having that crisis where in COVID arrive.

And initially we had a good response with the COVID-19, but because of the economical situation, we had to ease up and probably we did that a bit

early, and currently, we were in the midst of the second wave with a rising number. In the midst of all this double crisis, so to speak, came this

blast.

ANDERSON: How close are you, sir, at this point, given that the port is now clearly closed, nonfunctioning, will be for some time, just how close are

you to running out of supplies?

ABIAD: We are very close. I think, you know, when this happened yesterday, we threw everything that we had in our emergency room. We were trying to

treat as much as we can. But with all honesty, if help does not arrive soon, we will be empty-handed very shortly.

ANDERSON: And when you say "shortly," are we talking hours rather than days?

[11:40:00]

ABIAD: I think it all depends on the extent. Remember that we have the casualties from the blast, but we also have a mounting number of patients

with COVID-19 who are presenting to our hospitals.

And we have, for example here at Hariri we have vulnerable patients who the numbers have increased because of the financial situation who also present

here. So we are under severe stress to be able to accommodate all of those patients.

ANDERSON: Sir, can you ever remember a time when things were as bad as they have been in the past 24 hours?

ABIAD: I'm a surgeon who worked through the civil war, and we've seen financial hardships before. We've seen blast injuries before. We haven't

seen Corona before. But I think that all of these together, with the extent that we are seeing, whether of the blast or of the financial crisis, I

think we are in the middle of a perfect storm. And at the moment, we do not seem to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

ANDERSON: How are your staffs coping?

ABIAD: I think this is the silver lining to be honest probably in this ordeal. Because yesterday when this happened, part of my staff were

finishing their shift and going home. And they just came back, and in the emergency room, they were really working very hard.

They were filled with empathy toward the patients, and kindness. And I think the only hope I see within all of this is the ability of the human

spirit to endure these hardships.

ANDERSON: It's something I've said before and I will say it again, the humanity of the Lebanese people and those who live in Lebanon is

extraordinary, but Lebanon needs help at this point. Like I say, the human spirit is second to none, but the world needs to know that you cannot live

on human spirit alone.

Sir, thank you for joining us, the CEO of Rafik Hariri Hospital. So important to hear his words and his appeal. You are watching "Connect the

World" come in the wake of the disaster Israel is offering aid to Lebanon. Will the country accept help from its southern neighbor? That question, up

next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World" the blast in Beirut just compounds the struggles of these cities formerly in residence a

feeble economy the Coronavirus and corruption all making things so tough for those who live this.

CNN's Ben Wedeman was in the CNN Beirut Bureau on Tuesday evening when the explosion happened. Here is what he experienced.

[11:45:00]

WEDEMAN: It felt like an earthquake and it looked like a mushroom cloud. The explosion in Beirut Tuesday so massive, it shook the ground all the way

to Cyprus 150 miles away. The level of devastation is still being assessed, with widespread destruction stretching for miles from the epicenter near

Beirut's Port.

Firefighters and emergency workers rushed to the scene, one that the City's Governor, Marwan Abboud describe as resembling Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Local hospitals were immediately inundated with hundreds of victims. And the Lebanese Red Cross put out an urgent call for blood donations, the

casualty count staggering.

Thousands injured and dozens dead, with the number of dead surely to rise in the hours to come. Initially the state news agency attributed the cause

of the blast to fireworks warehouse, but shortly afterwards the Head of Lebanese Security said the explosion happened at the site of confiscated,

high explosive materials.

Lebanon's Prime Minister, Hassan Diab later said it is unacceptable that a shipment of an estimated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate was stored in a

warehouse near the port for six years. That is the country launched an investigation into the cause expected in an initial report in the coming

days.

The Lebanon's President has ordered military patrols in the wake of the incident in a country already on its knees due to a failing economy and the

spread of COVID-19. The Lebanese Prime Minister has announced that Wednesday will be a day of mourning. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.

ANDERSON: Well, support pouring in for Lebanon from around the globe, the European Union sending more than 100 specialized firefighters as well as

asset slide vehicles and rescue dogs and equipment. It has also activated its satellite mapping system to help authorities assess the damage.

And French President, Emmanuel Macron is set to visit Beirut on Thursday in a show of solidarity with the country. But we are here in the United Arab

Emirates, one of the first countries to offer help to Lebanon.

Dubai's Ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid ordering life-saving medical and humanitarian supplies be sent today the flight carrying the aid as a

donation from the government of the UAE, and in support of Lebanon.

The Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai has been lit up with the image of the Lebanese flag, this from a home which is home to so many Lebanese, a simple

gesture for fellow Arab Nation in the wake of disaster.

Well, In addition, countries around the Middle East are rallying to support Lebanon Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi, Iraq and Iran sending field hospitals

and supplies. Iran's Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif said his country was ready to help in any way necessary.

Great Britain, Turkey, Russia and others offering their condolences their prayers and support. And Israel's President, Reuven Rivlin is breaking

decades of tense relations to declare Israel's support for the neighboring Lebanese people. Let's get some perspective on that from Journalist Elliott

Gotkine who joins us now from Tel Aviv. Elliott?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Becky, as you say, a show of solidarity from Israel despite there of course being no love lost between Israel and

Lebanon. Indeed Lebanon, one of just a handful of countries that Israel designates as an enemy state.

Now you referenced President Reuven Rivlin yesterday, he tweeted out his support for the Lebanese people in Hebrew English and in Arabic saying that

we share the pain of the Lebanese people, and sincerely reach out to offer our aid at this difficult time.

And today we heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon addressing the Knesset, Israel's Parliament and saying that on behalf of

the Israeli government, I send my condolences to the people of Lebanon.

We are prepared to extend humanitarian aid as human beings to human beings. So solidarity there from the Prime Minister and the President and I should

also say that, you know, it's hard to believe that just a week ago, Becky, there were concerns about rising tensions on or near the border between

Israel and Lebanon. Very tragically that now seems like a very long time ago.

[11:50:00]

ANDERSON: Doesn't it just later this evening. The building behind you, as I understand it will be the centerpiece of Israel's show of solidarity with

the Lebanese people. Explain if you will.

GOTKINE: That's right, Becky. This is the main municipal building, the area as is known here in Israel and in about an hour's time, an hour and a

quarter or so, it's going to be lit up with the flag of Lebanon.

Now it's not abnormal for this building to be used to show solidarity with other countries. We've seen the British flag up there when there was a

terrorist attack there in the UK, for example, we've seen Spanish flags, gay pride flags, Egyptian flags all sorts of flags.

But the difference this time, Becky, is that never before we understand from the municipality has an enemy state flag been displayed on the

municipal building here in Central Tel Aviv. So a real show of solidarity from the municipality, the Mayor of Tel Aviv saying that humanity comes

before any conflict.

So solidarity from one Mediterranean City to another, even though the two countries, as we say, never signed any peace agreement and Israel still

considers it to be an enemy state. Becky?

ANDERSON: Elliott Gotkine is reporting from Tel Aviv in Israel. Elliott, thank you. Why do so many things happening in Lebanon have something in

common? We take a deep dive on that, up next.

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ANDERSON: This is whatever way you cut it, the manifestation of the multitude of endless avenues of miserable corruption in Lebanon. What is

seen as a political oligarchy has, for decades, hollowed out the entire country from the inside in an endless and ceaselessly worsening series of

dysfunction and theft.

Yesterday, on Tuesday, August the 4th, in the early evening, we saw the most tremendous example of it. With much of the city laid waste in a blast

unlike any it has ever seen. And so many are left wondering, why was that ammonium nitrate stored at the port? How long was it there? Who knew about

it and its risk? And who turned a blind eye?

This, though, is just the latest and clearest example of a much wider system of dysfunction as government after government in Lebanon fails to do

its most fundamental job and look after its people. Basic, and I mean basic, services are amiss. The electricity cuts off throughout the day.

And remember this? This river of trash, no one was there to pick it up, so it just went on and on and on in the heat. Well, how about the rampant

forest fires that raged across the country last year? Helicopters weren't maintained, and so they couldn't get there.

At the bottom of all of it, someone is filling their pockets at the expense of somebody else and on top of it all, an economic calamity massive

unemployment and the currency the Lebanese pound losing 60 percent of its value in less than a year it also has the third largest debt to GDP ratio.

So listen to this.

[11:55:00]

ANDERSON: I was there in Beirut late last year when these calls were ringing around the streets - everyone means everyone, as protesters demand

the government get out. And what changed? Well, nothing, really.

Perhaps a few faces, but the fractious system so embedded into Lebanon, they are now part of the very fabric of the country remains the same. We

are now some 30 years after the Lebanese Civil War, and it seems as bad as ever and why? Truly, for what?

So now Beirut once adorned as the Paris of the Middle East nestle between the aqua marine waters of the Mediterranean and those stunning hills of

Mount Lebanon sits scarred and ruined in a scale still incomprehensible yet again.

This blast wasn't inevitable. The economic crisis wasn't inevitable, nor the power cuts, nor the lack of jobs and basic systems. Across Lebanon's

political spectrum, one ideology reigns supreme. What's in it for me, and then, so, what's left for the people?

Nothing, all too often, but despair I end where we begin the show, quoting Lebanese American Poet Gibran, Khalil Gibran, pity the people. Think on

that. Thank you for joining us. We leave you with scenes of Lebanon and one of the country's most famous singer singing her ode to her country.

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END