Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has announced the resignation of his government this Monday following the August 4 explosion in Beirut’s port which stirred public outrage and calls for a complete overhaul of Lebanon’s political system.

In a speech he gave today, Diab lambasted Lebanon’s political elite whom he called “an apparatus of corruption bigger than the state.”

“We have fought valiantly and with dignity,” he said, referring to members of his cabinet. “Between us and change is big powerful barrier.”

Three cabinet ministers had already quit, along with seven members of parliament.

Lebanon has been suffering through its worst economic crisis in decades, a situation made worse by rising coronavirus infection rates. The government has been plagued by accusations of corruption and gross mismanagement.