Beirut-Rescuers combed through the rubble of Beirut port Friday in a search for survivors watched breathlessly by relatives of the missing, after an investigation into the huge blast made its first arrests. 
Shock has turned to anger in Lebanon since Tuesday’s colossal explosion killed at least 153 people and devastated swathes of the capital, with security forces firing tear gas at demonstrators who gathered near parliament late Thursday.
The revelation that a huge shipment of hazardous ammonium nitrate fertiliser had languished for years in a warehouse in the heart of the capital served as shocking proof to many Lebanese of the rot at the core of their political system. What ignited the 2,750 tonnes of fertiliser is still unclear -- officials have said work had recently begun on repairs to the warehouse, while fireworks were stored nearby.
Near the seat of the explosion, next to the carcass of the port’s giant grain silos, rescue teams from France, Germany and Italy coordinated their search efforts. “I am waiting to hear that you have been rescued alive, my dear,” tweeted Emilie Hasrouty, whose brother is among the missing.
“There wasn’t a door I didn’t knock on to know what happened to you, and now that the waiting is almost over, I am paralysed with fear.” Beirut has received a stream of international assistance since the blast, and on Thursday hosted French President Emmanuel Macron, who pressed Lebanese leaders for deep reform ahead of an aid conference planned in the coming days.
World leaders have joined the chorus of voices in Lebanon and the diaspora demanding an international inquiry into the cause of the devastation. The UN children’s agency UNICEF has said nearly 80,000 children are among the 300,000 people left homeless, including many who have been separated from their families.
With destruction from the blast extending over half of the capital and the damage expected to cost more than $3 billion, world leaders have backed calls from ordinary Lebanese for those responsible to be held accountable.  Lebanese authorities had announced their own inquiry into Tuesday’s explosion and a military prosecutor on Thursday said 16 people had been detained.
They included the port’s general manager, Hassan Koraytem, a judicial source told AFP. The central bank also ordered an asset freeze for seven port and customs officials, an official and a banking source told AFP. The measures did not dampen the anger in Beirut’s streets, where dozens of demonstrators scuffled with security forces late Thursday drawing a volley of tear gas.
Lebanon’s leadership was already deeply unpopular, with a wave of mass protests that erupted in October last year only abating in the COVID-19 outbreak. Lebanon’s leadership faced growing rage after a massive explosion laid waste to large parts of central Beirut, with security forces firing tear gas at demonstrations late Thursday as international leaders called for reform. To many Lebanese, it was tragic proof of the rot at the core of their governing system, which has failed to halt the deepest economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil wars and has plunged millions into poverty. State media reported late Thursday that security forces fired tear gas in central Beirut to disperse dozens of anti-government demonstrators enraged by the blast. Some in the small protest were wounded, the National News Agency reported.