Pope's prayers renew hopes for justice for Beirut port blast victims


Pope Leo XIV holds a silent prayer at the site of the Beirut port blast in August 2020, during his first apostolic journey, in Beirut, Lebanon December 2, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/Pool

BEIRUT, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Five years after losing her daughter in a devastating chemical explosion at Beirut's port, Nelly El Helou said Pope Leo's silent prayer at the site on Tuesday was enough to renew hopes that those responsible for the blast would be held to account.

The blast, on August 4, 2020, killed more than 220 people and shredded swathes of the Lebanese capital, but a probe into which officials knew about hundreds of tonnes of explosive ammonium nitrate at the port has been stymied by political interference.

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