Beirut blast, six years later: Will justice finally move forward?

Report by Maroun Nassif, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

Between August 4, 2020, and August 4, 2026, 2,191 days, 52,548 hours and 3,155,040 minutes have passed.

After all this time, the truth behind the Beirut Port explosion remains elusive.

The families of those killed and injured also remain caught between despair and hope.

Between 2020, when the Beirut Port explosion occurred — the third-largest non-nuclear explosion in the world — and the beginning of 2026, a key question remained: Would the judiciary be able to complete the investigation?

The investigation faced around 45 lawsuits filed by some politicians and judges charged in the case, including requests for the recusal, transfer and legal challenge of Judicial Investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, as well as claims of abuse of authority against him. These moves were aimed at obstructing the investigation.

With the election of President Joseph Aoun and the formation of the new government headed by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, the situation changed completely.

Bitar completed his investigation on March 31 and referred it to the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation to prepare the legal submission on the merits.

The question then became whether an indictment would be issued.
The answer is yes, due to the determination of Presidents Aoun and Salam, as well as Judge Bitar and the newly appointed Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Ahmad Rami Al-Hajj, to expedite the case. Al-Hajj assigned Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Judge Mohammad Saab to prepare the legal submission.

The indictment is expected within a few months. But the more important question remains: Will the security forces enforce the arrest warrants that the judicial investigator may issue alongside the indictment against politicians and influential figures?

And will the Judicial Council be able to overcome attempts to obstruct the trial, particularly through lawsuits seeking the recusal, legal challenge or transfer of judges, or through the notification process?

Without addressing these two conditions, justice will remain elusive and accountability absent.

At that point, President Aoun and Prime Minister Salam, together with the judiciary, will face their toughest test yet from the deep state.