Amal and George Clooney Donate $100,000 to Lebanese Charities in the Wake of the Beirut Explosion
posted on: Aug 22, 2020
SOURCE: PEOPLE
BY: ALEXIA FERNANDEZ
Amal and George Clooney are donating to three charities in Lebanon after the massive explosion in Beirut that killed over 100 people and injured at least 5,000
Amal and George Clooney are giving back to three Lebanese charities in the aftermath of the explosions in Beirut.
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, the couple said they hoped to give back to the Lebanese community which was ravaged after a massive explosion killed at least 135 people and injured at least 5,000 on Tuesday.
“We’re both deeply concerned for the people of Beirut and the devastation they’ve faced in the last few days,” they said in their statement. “Three charitable organizations we’ve found are providing essential relief on the ground: the Lebanese Red Cross, Impact Lebanon, and Baytna Baytak.”
They added, “We will be donating $100,000 to these charities and hope that others will help in any way they can.”
Amal, a 42-year-old human rights lawyer, was born in Beirut. Her family left Lebanon when she was 2-years-old during the Lebanese Civil War and moved to England where she studied at Oxford University.
She and the Oscar winner met in 2013 and married in April 2014. The couple shares two children, twins Ella and Alexander, 3.
The explosion in Beirut hit the city’s seaport and was reportedly felt 150 miles away. The blast caused extensive damage, destroying buildings, malls and entire blocks of the city.
While the exact cause of the blast remains unclear, Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon’s intelligence agency, said the explosion may have come after highly explosive material confiscated from a ship and stored in a warehouse in Beirut’s port detonated following a fire, according to the Associated Press.
In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Hassan Diab spoke of a “dangerous warehouse” that had been in existence for six years, the BBC reported.
According to The Sun, Lebanese health minister Hamad Hasan said, “I have never in my life seen a disaster this big.” As a result of the blast and damages — which reached up to six miles away — a quarter of a million people have been left homeless.
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