Prime Minister Hassan Diab held a meeting Sunday with several ministers seeking to submit their resignations in connection with the catastrophic blast that rocked Beirut.

Parliament will hold open-ended sessions as of Thursday to grill the government over “the great crime that affected the capital and the people,” Speaker Nabih Berri said on Sunday, referring to the catastrophic Beirut port blast.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for speedy international backing for disaster-struck Lebanon and urged its leaders to prevent "chaos" as he opened an emergency aid conference following Beirut's deadly port blast.

Macron hosted U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders for the virtual conference to drum up aid for Lebanon, as the U.N. said some $117 million will be needed over the next three months for the emergency response.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Sunday said his party is trying to secure enough parliament resignations in order to force early elections.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on the entire government to step down over the August 4 explosion, a blast widely seen as shocking proof of the rot at the core of the state apparatus.

Al-Rahi joined the chorus of people pressing Prime Minister Hassan Diab's cabinet to step down over a blast he said could be "described as a crime against humanity."

Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Saturday he will introduce a draft bill proposing early elections for the crisis-stricken country.

In a televised speech, Diab called on all political parties to put their disagreements aside and work together.

The gigantic explosion in Beirut on Tuesday tore through homes, blowing off doors and windows, toppling cupboards, and sent flying books, shelves, lamps and everything else.

Dozens were trapped under the wreckage and those who survived still cannot believe that they did.

Kataeb party chief MP Sami Gemayel announced on Saturday that his three-member parliamentary bloc decided to resign from parliament in protest at the Beirut blast widely blamed on government negligence and corruption.

Thousands of Lebanese prepared Saturday for a major protest against a political leadership they blame for a monster explosion that killed more than 150 people and disfigured the capital Beirut.

Two days after a landmark visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, diplomatic activity intensified in Beirut to organise international support for the disaster-hit country ahead of a Sunday aid conference.

Turkey's Vice President Fuat Oktay says Ankara is ready to help Lebanon rebuild Beirut's port and send ambulance planes to evacuate some of the wounded for treatment in Turkish hospitals.

Oktay spoke on Saturday to reporters after meeting Lebanese President Michel Aoun. He added that a Turkish search team is working at the port that was destroyed in a massive explosion on Tuesday.