The Lebanese army on Saturday said that seven people, including at least three Lebanese nationals, are still missing after the blasts at Beirut port on August 4. The health ministry on Saturday said that the death toll from the explosions has climbed to 188.

Army spokesperson Elias Aad, during a press conference, said that search and rescue operations will not stop until the missing persons are found. There are still “seven missing people: three Lebanese nationals whose relatives have submitted DNA samples, four Syrian nationals and one Egyptian national,” he told reporters.

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The army spokesman said the figure was compiled from data submitted by the country’s Internal Security Forces (ISF), in coordination with the Red Cross. The ISF, last week, said it had identified the remains of 33 people who had gone missing following the explosion.

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The explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertiliser in the port of Beirut also injured at least 6,500 people and left tens of thousands more homeless.

An estimated 300,000 people, including around 100,000 children, whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the blast, face a lack of access to critical safe water and sanitation services, UNICEF warned on Friday.

“As COVID-19 cases continue to surge, it is more critical than ever to ensure that children and families whose lives were turned upside down by the explosion have access to safe water and sanitation,” said UNICEF Lebanon Representative Yukie Mokuo.