Lebanon Allocates 50bn Lebanese Pounds for Victims of Beirut Blast

Lebanon on Tuesday has allocated an initial of 50 billion Lebanese Pounds in compensation to the thousands of homes and businesses devastated by the Beirut port explosion nearly six months on.

Caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni has given directives to distribute the funds through the Higher Relief Council.

The August 4, 2020 blast killed around 200 people and injured about 6,000 others, destroying large swathes of the capital and leaving thousands homeless.

Investigators focused on possible negligence in the storage of tons of a highly explosive fertilizer in a waterfront warehouse, while the government ordered the house arrest of several port officials.