Beirut Investigation Revived as Gaza Rubble Removal Sparks Alarm

Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nasser prioritizes the port blast probe; monitors warn that Gaza rubble removal may erase evidence of missing persons.

Beirut Investigation Revived as Gaza Rubble Removal Sparks Alarm — Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nasser announced this evening (Tuesday) that the investigation into the Beirut port explosion will be given top priority by the Judicial Council[^1]. Six years after the blast that killed 218 people and injured at least 7,000, the move signals a renewed judicial push, though the political weight behind it remains unclear[^1]. Meanwhile, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warned of extensive operations by the Israeli occupation army, with Israeli companies, to crush and move Gaza's rubble to undisclosed locations[^2]. A joint assessment by the World Bank, the UN, and the EU estimated the rubble at about 68 million tons last April; the monitor's field data indicate at least 10 million tons already removed[^2]. The group warns this threatens to crush the remains of about 8,500 missing people—an erasure that complicates any future accounting[^2]. In Gaza City, the Islamic Jihad Movement mourned the martyrs of the Abu Sharia and Al-Hasaena clans, whose bodies—112 in total—were buried today after being recovered from the Sabra neighborhood[^3]. The movement affirmed that the continuation of the aggression and killing "will not break the steadfastness of the Palestinian people nor diminish their determination and insistence on continuing the path of liberation"[^3]. Separately, the US State Department spokesperson summarized the first day of the current round of talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome[^4]. Lebanon requested that the next pilot area be in Bint Jbeil or Al-Khiam, while the question of who will verify Hezbollah disarmament remains open[^4]. The talks proceed against a backdrop of Jordanian warnings: Foreign Minister Ayman A-Safadi told the Guardian that harming the status quo "could ignite a religious conflict that would resonate beyond Palestine and Jordan, across the Muslim world," adding, "Jerusalem is a powder keg"[^5]. Jordan will convene an emergency meeting of foreign ministers tomorrow (Wednesday)[^5]. Bennett Hits Qatar as Knesset Approves Haredi Funds — Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the 'Yashar' party, stood at Mosha