The Lebanese army continues its search and rescue operations at the site of the explosion that occurred in the port of Beirut last Tuesday, while France and the United Nations are preparing today to hold an international conference in support of Lebanon.

Yesterday, Saturday, the commander of the operations room of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General Jan Nahra, revealed that the Turkish rescue team is working in the area closest to the site of the explosion, which is the most affected, and that the search for missing persons is still continuing.

Nahra explained to the media, after a cruise around the scene of the explosion, how to search for the bodies of the dead, with the participation of civil defense teams, the Lebanese Red Cross and the High Relief Commission.

He said that the silos on the southern side absorbed a large part of the explosion, and had it not been for their presence, the Beirut area would have been destroyed in a greater and frightening manner, indicating that there were missing until now, and that all the personnel were working literally.

The explosion at the Beirut port on Tuesday left 158 ​​dead, more than 6 thousand wounded and dozens missing under the rubble, according to unconfirmed official figures.

Donor conference

Meanwhile, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said that it will host a donors conference for Lebanon today via a video circuit, and the conference, which the United Nations will co-sponsor, will seek to obtain aid pledges from participants, including US President Donald Trump, and the conference is expected to decide how to distribute Aid for the benefit of the Lebanese people.

For its part, the Lebanese Presidency quoted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirming his participation in the conference, and Johnson added in a phone call to the Lebanese President that Britain will work with the United States, France and Germany to rebuild the facilities that were damaged due to the Beirut Port explosion.

This comes after what happened in downtown Beirut yesterday, confrontations between demonstrators disgruntled against the political authority and the security forces, which led to dozens of injuries and the death of a member of the security forces, and the protesters stormed a number of government headquarters, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Economy, Energy and the Environment, as well as the Lebanese Banking Association building.

The Lebanese Red Cross said that about 240 people were injured during the demonstrations in protest of the huge explosion that occurred last Tuesday, while the American embassy in Beirut said that it supports the right of the Lebanese people to peacefully demonstrate, and calls on everyone to stay away from violence, and indicated in a tweet that the Lebanese people He has suffered greatly and deserves to have leaders who listen to him and respond to his demands for transparency and accountability.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab had said that he would present to the cabinet a bill to hold early parliamentary elections in order to renew the political class, and Diab added in a press conference that the Lebanese will not have mercy on those who stand in the way of reforming the country.

Diab called on all political parties to agree on the features of the next stage in order to overcome the current crisis, stressing that the time available for this is not long, and he announced that he will bear the responsibility for a period of two months to achieve this.

For his part, the head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, Sami Gemayel, said that Prime Minister Hassan Diab's call for early parliamentary elections was late, and that the request to renew the political class had been put forward for a long time, and Gemayel demanded the resignation of the Diab government and the formation of an independent government capable of organizing fair elections.

Beirut is witnessing intense diplomatic mobility and visits by high-ranking officials. Yesterday, Turkish Vice President Fuad Aktay announced that his country is ready to rebuild Beirut Port again, after his meeting with the Lebanese President, while European Council President Charles Michel called for an independent investigation to uncover the circumstances of the port explosion. He also called for reforms that meet the aspirations of the Lebanese, and stressed the need for financial reform and combating corruption.