Lebanese judicial source to AFP: Two French judges to visit Beirut for port blast investigation

A French judicial delegation is expected to arrive in Beirut at the end of April to meet with Lebanese judicial officials, including Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the local investigation into the 2020 Beirut port explosion, a Lebanese judicial source told AFP.

According to the source, two judges from the Paris Investigative Chamber will travel to Lebanon during the last week of April, carrying a detailed report outlining the findings of the French probe launched just days after the blast.

Judge Bitar resumed his investigative procedures on January 16, filing charges against ten individuals, including seven military and security officials, and scheduling interrogations.

The judicial source said the French judges would deliver their report to Judge Bitar, noting that the French investigation would remain separate from the ongoing Lebanese inquiry.

In parallel, Lebanon has recently received inquiries from Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia—countries that lost citizens in the explosion—requesting updates on the investigation's progress, the expected duration of the probe, and the anticipated date for issuing formal indictments.