On August 4, 2020, at 6:07 in the evening, the port of Beirut erupted, killing at least 218 people, wounding 7,000, and leaving more than 150 permanently disabled. For the families of the victims, the explosion was no accident — it was the foreseeable result of thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in the heart of the capital, with the knowledge, in writing, of Lebanon's highest officials. Six years later, the domestic investigation is complete, but no one has been indicted. Main Developments Lebanon's domestic investigation into the blast was completed this March, marking a long-awaited breakthrough. The file, naming 70 officials and security officers, now sits on the desk of Public Prosecutor Ahmad Rami Al Hajj. But nothing obliges the prosecutor to finish his review by any date, and the case cannot move forward until he issues his opinion. Judge Tarek Bitar, the investigating judge, must receive Al Hajj's opinion before he can issue an indictment and refer the case to trial. Until then, accountability is paused — and the results could sit on the desk for a month or a decade. In Lebanon, files that sit on desks often gather dust until the world forgets, and impunity wins. Read also: UEFA sends FIFA legal notice over failed World Cup sell-off The families of the victims, who have waited through years of legal obstruction, are now appealing directly to the public prosecutor to act without delay. They are not lawyers, they say, but they understand a simple truth: an investigation that never becomes a trial is accountability denied — impunity by exhaustion. Background The explosion was caused by a stockpile of ammonium nitrate that had been left unsecured in a port warehouse for years. The families' struggle for justice has been marked by a series of setbacks: the first investigating judge was removed for daring to summon ministers, and Judge Bitar's efforts were buried under lawsuits filed by the very men he sought to question. For years, the investigation stayed suspended while politicians hid behind immunity they had written for themselves. The victims' families say they have buried their loved ones twice — once in the ground, and once under the paperwork of a state determined to protect itself. The tragedy extends far beyond Lebanon's borders. Nationals of Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Pakistan, Palestine, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, and the United States died or were injured in the blast, making it an international crisis. Why It Matters The international community has not been idle. French forensic experts arrived days after the explosion, and France's own judicial investigation shared its findings with Judge Bitar. In 2023, Australia stood before the UN Human Rights Council on behalf of 38 states to demand a swift, independent, impartial, credible, and transparent investigation. Legal actions are also proceeding outside Lebanon. In London, the High Court has found the company that owned the ammonium nitrate liable for deaths and damage. In the United States, a case against the firm that chartered the ship is advancing. Criminal complaints have been filed in Germany and Belgium, and the ship's owner was arrested in Bulgaria last September. As Antonia Mulvey, executive director of Legal Action Worldwide, which represents victims and survivors, put it: completing the investigation is a milestone, but nobody has yet been held accountable. What stands between the victims and a trial is no longer evidence, it is will. Victims have a right to proceedings without undue delay, and every month of silence erodes that right. What's Next The families are urging the international community to keep pressing Lebanese officials on the status of the case until a trial begins. They ask that the question be raised in every meeting with Lebanese officials, and they have counted more than 2,000 days of waiting. For the officials named in the file, the families have a clear message: we are not going anywhere. They will continue counting every day until justice is done. The next step is for Public Prosecutor Al Hajj to submit his opinion on the Beirut port file, allowing the indictment to be issued and the case to be referred to trial. Six years have passed without anyone being indicted. The families acknowledge that no justice will bring back their loved ones, but they insist on the truth of what really happened on August 4, 2020. The world is watching, and the families are determined that this case will not be forgotten.