Gogglebox’s Jad Nehmetallah reveals his aunt has been injured in the horror blast in Lebanon – and says he would have been there too if it hadn’t been for border closures
Gogglebox star Jad Nehmetallah has revealed that his aunt was injured in the horror blast that shook the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday.
The Lebanese-Australian restaurateur shared the devastating news to Instagram, and also revealed he would have been there too if the borders hadn’t closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He told his followers: ‘2020 seems like a long nightmare as I woke up this morning to some heavy hearted news.. Beirut suffered an “explosion”. An explosion so big it shook half the city from miles away.’
Heartbreaking: Gogglebox star Jad Nehmetallah (pictured) has revealed that his aunt was injured in the horror blast that shook the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday
He continued: ‘This has impacted me personally. I should’ve been in Lebanon right now and to know the explosion was in the same area I stay in shook me harder.’
Jad explained the ‘gyms, coffee shops, barber and restaurants’ he visits when he travels to Lebanon ‘are gone’.
He added: ‘My aunt is injured in hospital. Her apartment [is] heavily damaged. My friends’ apartments and businesses have been damaged. It’s killing me to not be able to go over there to help those in need.
Tragic: He shared this photo of his aunt (left) to Instagram, and revealed she was currently in hospital after her home was destroyed in the blast. Pictured on August 5, 2019
‘How much can one country suffer and handle? From the revolution, poor economic state, poverty and coronavirus.’
Jad concluded: ‘My heart and prayers go out to the people of Lebanon, to those who have passed, the injured, to all our friends and family. Stay strong. I love you.’
He accompanied the post with a photo of himself and his aunt, which taken exactly one year ago, on August 5, 2019, in her apartment in Beirut.
A massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people and leaving thousands injured.
Destroyed: Jad (left, with Sarah Marie and Matty Fahd on Gogglebox) said he would have been in Lebanon too if the borders hadn’t closed due to the coronavirus pandemic
The explosion, which struck with the force of a 3.5-magnitude earthquake has destroyed buildings across the city.
It is unclear what caused the blast, but witnesses have stressed the sheer enormity of the impact, which was heard 125 miles away in Cyprus, and likened it to a ‘nuclear bomb’.
Lebanon’s interior minister said it appeared that a large cache of ammonium nitrate in the port had detonated.
Devastating: A massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people and leaving thousands injured