Maersk ready with Beirut staff evacuation plan

Maersk has prepared an evacuation plan for its employees in Beirut amidst escalating conflict between Israel and militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Danish shipping company confirmed this to the news agency Ritzau, stating they are ready to evacuate if necessary. With 21 employees at its Beirut office, Maersk did not specify the exact impact of the situation on its operations but reported that its ability to serve customers is currently unaffected, though it is closely monitoring developments. Since October 8th of the previous year, there have been almost daily cross-border attacks between Lebanon and Israel, with recent weeks seeing a significant escalation and intensified airstrikes by Israel, including the killing of Hezbollah leaders. Israel aims to return an estimated 60,000 internally displaced Israelis to Northern Israel through the campaign against Hezbollah. Israel is also indicating readiness for a full-scale invasion to achieve this objective.