With nearly half the population in poverty and inflation at 40%, concerns are rising that Lebanon is ill-prepared for any escalation in the Israel-Gaza war
When 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut it launched 75-year-old Georges Abi Khalil from his bed. At least 220 people were killed and more than 7,000 wounded in the explosion on 4 August 2020 that blew out the doors and windows of Abi Khalil’s one-bedroom apartment and caused $4bn of damage throughout the city.
Sitting in the same apartment, four years later, Abi Khalil and his 69-year-old wife, Afaf, recall how their church and local charities assisted in the aftermath. “You wouldn’t believe how many people came out to help us,” says Abi Khalil.
