His country was ready to help Lebanon, Trump said at the White House, according to the dpa news agency.
Several explosions occurred near the port of Beirut on Tuesday, destroying large parts of the port and devastating surrounding neighborhoods. Around 100 people died and another 4 000 were injured. The German Geoforschungszentrum GFZ compared the tremors with an earthquake of magnitude 3,5 reported the ARD Tagesschau.
Trump’s generals did not believe it was an accident, the US president said. They believed that, given the nature of the detonation, it must have been a “type of bomb”.
I look at facts & listen to my contacts on the ground. If there r statements (like President Trump) or media reports (IDF source claiming Israel is behind it), these lack credibility & are not factual.
Feel free to believe what u want but that is my position with present facts.
— Elijah J. Magnier (@ejmalrai) August 6, 2020
Many contradicted this, including the British government. It is still too early for such speculations, said Education Secretary Nick Gibb on Wednesday to the TV broadcaster Sky. The Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab did not believe in a bomb attack either.
The reason for the explosion is said to be 2 750 tons of ammonium nitrate. The substance had been stored in the port for six years without any precautions. The material may have come from a cargo ship, which the Lebanese authorities prohibited from continuing on its journey in 2013 due to various defects. Since then it had been stored at the port, said Diab, according to the dpa news agency. Ammonium nitrate is also used to propel rockets or to make explosives and fertilizers. The substance can only detonate at higher temperatures.
This is the moment of the explosion in #Beirut #Lebanon where the sea side contributed in reducing casualties. We can see it in this video. pic.twitter.com/R8RjrGGrtX
— Elijah J. Magnier (@ejmalrai) August 5, 2020