Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Mr President, when Australians first heard of the explosion at the port of Beirut, it was an incomprehensible disaster. The mobile phone videos of the sudden explosion, with its massive white shock wave, were truly horrifying. The detonation was so large that it registered on the global detection network of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organisation.
More than 215 people died, more than 7,000 were injured, and more than 300,000 were displaced because their homes were lost. Lebanon has not recovered from its grief, nor from its damage. That day also took the life of an Australian citizen: two-year old Isaac Oehlers. Today we remember Isaac, and we once more offer our deep and sincere condolences to his parents Sarah and Craig, and their families, in their immeasurable grief.