All Lebanon’s govt officials resign over Beirut explosion

Lebanon’s health minister has said the country’s ‘whole government’ has resigned in the wake of the deadly explosion in Beirut last week.

Hamad Hassan spoke with reporters at the end of a cabinet meeting and said Prime Minister Hassan Diab will head to the presidential palace to ‘hand over the resignation in the name of all the ministers.’

It’s expected Mr Diab will address the nation later. The cabinet has been under increasing pressure after several ministers quit or expressed their intention to step down in recent days.

The massive blast on August 4, which decimated the Beirut port and devastated large parts of the city, has brought a new wave of public outrage at the government and Lebanon’s long-entrenched ruling class.

Protests were planned outside the government headquarters to coincide with the cabinet meeting.

READ ALSO: Lebanon’s PM reveals chemical blamed for Beirut explosion

The explosion is believed to have been caused by a fire that ignited a 2,750-tonne stockpile of explosive ammonium nitrate. The material had been stored at the port since 2013 with few safeguards despite numerous warnings of the danger.

The result was a disaster the Lebanese blame squarely on their leadership’s corruption and neglect. The blast killed at least 160 people and wounded about 6,000, in addition to destroying the country’s main port and damaging large parts of the capital. Losses from the blast are estimated to be between £8 billion to £12 billion, and nearly 300,000 people were left homeless in the immediate aftermath. Mr Diab’s cabinet will now assume a caretaker role until a new government is formed. On Saturday, it called for early elections.

DailyTimes had reported that Lebanon’s Prime Minister (PM), Hassan Diab revealed that ammonium nitrate led to the massive explosion at the capital city, Beirut.