Lebanon marked four years since a horrific explosion at the capital’s port shook the country killing more than 230 people, causing 7,000 injuries and destroying swathes of Beirut.

Not a single person has been held to account for the fourth largest non-nuclear explosion in the world, and details into what led to the blast remain elusive.

Carrying photos of their loved ones they lost to the explosion, along with roses, Lebanese flags and signs that read “No to erasing crimes!” and “If justice isn’t served, our voices will remain screaming,” the families led two simultaneous marches, one from the Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut, and another from the fire station in Karantina to meet in front of the Beirut port to commemorate the blast and demand justice, just as they have done for the past four years.

Various art installations and sculptures honoring the victims of the blast line the front of the port, still filled with remains from the blast.

Investigations into the explosion revealed that it was caused by the detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, which had been improperly stored in the capital’s port for years, putting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people at risk.

Various officials, including then President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Hassan Diab were aware of the explosive material being stored at the port. Diab had vowed those responsible for the blast would be held accountable within five days of the explosion.

Four years later and no progress whatsoever has been made as the domestic investigation remains marred by interference and obstruction by the entrenched political establishment.

Many have lost any glimmer of hope that an investigation will lead to justice and accountability that so many have been demanding in a country where a culture of impunity continues to persist.

“I had hope in the beginning that the investigations would lead to something, but after the first year I lost any hope,” Najwa Hayek, whose daughter remains in a coma after four years, told Al Arabiya English.

Hayek’s daughter, Lara Hayek, then 44, was asleep alone at home in Achrafieh on that fateful day in 2020, when she sustained severe injuries in her head and neck.

She had gone into cardiac arrest, and by the time doctors managed to resuscitate her amidst the chaos, her brain had suffered serious damage due to lack of oxygen. She has been in a coma ever since.

“I visit her every week,” Hayek said, adding that her daughter’s situation keeps deteriorating.

She refuses to remove her daughter from life support, however. “I leave it to God,” she said.

“The truth must come out sooner or later so I know that at least there is some justice for my daughter,” Hayek said.

Still waiting for a solution

The probe into the blast led by Investigative Judge Tarek Bitar had come to a halt in late 2021 as he summoned several officials for interrogation, who in turn filed lawsuits against him, accusing him of political bias. The Court of Cassation lacked enough judges to rule on these lawsuits, leaving Bitar unable to proceed with the investigation.

In 2023, Bitar unexpectedly resumed the probe, charging top officials such as prosecutor general Ghassan Oueidat and summoning several others for interrogation including then head of intelligence Major General Abbas Ibrahim. Oueidat in turn charged Bitar for allegedly exceeding his powers and ordered security forces to not comply with Bitar’s orders.

The investigation has been at a standstill since.

The appointment of Judge Jamal Hajjar as acting Public Prosecutor in February, replacing Oueidat who had reached retirement age, brought renewed hope to some regarding the investigation.

“The public prosecution worked against the [port explosion] case with Judge Oueidat at the helm, now it’s been changed, the circumstances have improved,” William Noun, whose brother firefighter Joe Noun was killed in the 2020 explosion, told Al Arabiya English.

Hajjar pledged to help with the resumption of the investigation when he took over this role.

However, efforts by Hajjar and Bitar to overcome obstacles facing the investigation have reached an impasse.

Hajjar has proposed dividing the case into three parts to differentiate between the defendants. Under his plan, current and former ministers would be tried before the Higher Judicial Council, judges would face a special judicial body appointed by the government, and Beirut port officials, along with other defendants without special status, would be tried by Bitar.

Bitar firmly rejected this offer, maintaining that that the law allows him to prosecute everyone involved in the case.

“This is not a solution, it’s a compromise, the judge rejected it, and we [families of the victims] were going to reject it anyway, it’s illegal,” Noun said.

“We will be waiting for another solution,” he added.

No traction internationally

With virtually no faith in the now frozen domestic investigations, families of the victims have turned to the international community for help. Calls to establish an international fact-finding mission have continuously been made since the explosion in 2020.

In July, rights groups and the families of victims renewed their call to the UN Human Rights Council to pass a resolution establishing an international, impartial, and independent fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations related to the Beirut blast.

During the council’s 52nd session last year, 38 countries issued a statement condemning the ongoing obstruction and interference in the domestic investigation, calling on Lebanon to ensure a “swift, independent, impartial, credible, and transparent investigation into the explosion.”

However, this year the Human Rights Council did not address the issue.

Human Rights Watch Lebanon researcher Ramzi Kaiss told Al Arabiya English that despite international interest in establishing a fact-finding mission and condemnations from UN officials regarding political interference in the domestic investigation, these efforts have not yet resulted in a resolution “which is needed now more than ever.”

“This is because establishing a fact-finding mission requires a mobilization of the member states of the Human Rights Council, so they put forward a resolution and vote on it,” Kaiss explained.

However, things became more complicated since the Gaza war began in October.

“State priorities across the world have shifted and it has become much harder to gain traction on the issue of the blast and to push for an international fact-finding mechanism,” Kaiss said.

The findings of an independent and impartial fact-finding mission mandated by the UN Human Rights Council would support both the domestic investigation and related court cases abroad.

Families of victims cling onto any hope from any avenue.

“We will keep on demanding for an international fact-finding mission, even if we don’t expect the result to be promising,” Noun said.

According to Noun, the main aim of many families is to get an indictment from a domestic judge.

“If we get an indictment from Judge Bitar, we can use it at courts abroad… without a domestic indictment, nothing will work,” Noun said.

Following the explosion, many victims sought justice through international courts. In 2022, a $250 million claim was filed in the United States against a firm connected to the ship that carried the ammonium nitrate. The next year, a London court awarded approximately $1 million in damages to the blast victims, but the identity of the beneficial owner of the UK-registered firm remained undisclosed.

More victims hope to take action in courts abroad.

“If someone is also a citizen of another country, they can bring a case abroad, either individually or on behalf of all the victims,” Noun said.