A leading lawyer in Lebanon has said that work will go on as long as possible after a sudden escalation in bombings over recent days.
Israel has said it is carrying out a wave of ‘extensive’ strikes in southern Lebanon and more than 500 people are reported to have been killed.
Few UK law firms operate in Lebanon but the British government has told anyone working in the country to leave immediately.
Elias Chedid, a partner with Chedid Law Offices, which is associated with global firm Dentons, said staff in his Beirut office are adapting to revised working practices to stay as safe as possible.
‘As long as we have some infrastructure left, we can carry on our operations as normally as can be done,’ Chedid told the Gazette.
‘Decisions are to be made day-by-day or even hour-by-hour. Most lawyers and staff are already working from home, which limits internal travel and the correlative risk of being collateral damage while on the move.’
Chedid explained that while conflict had happened before in Lebanon, younger colleagues had grown up living in peace and now faced dangers never before experienced.
‘In a way, we are used to circumstances like these; my generation for instance grew up with the war. But there is a new generation that is not accustomed to this.
‘The problem is that the kind of war that we are facing now is unprecedented. There was never such technology available, which makes possible both remote strikes and massive destruction.’
The Foreign Office has said British nationals should leave immediately. Around 700 troops are moving to nearby Cyprus to offer support to those in the region.
The government continues to advise against all travel to Lebanon, as the situation continues to deteriorate. Defence secretary John Healey said: ‘Events in the past hours and days have demonstrated how volatile this situation is, which is why our message is clear, British nationals should leave now.’
