Middle East: All Irish troops 'well and accounted for' as 900 citizens caught up in travel chaos

A man takes pictures of the damage in an apartment building after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon. Picture: AP Photo/Hussein Malla

All Irish troops are "well and accounted for" as 900 citizens are currently stuck in transit amid major airline travel disruption following a fourth day of attacks in the Middle East.

The US and Israel have continued to hit Iran since killing its Supreme Leader on Saturday, while Tehran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighbouring Gulf states - including Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and targets critical to the world's production of oil and natural gas. 

The US Embassy in Riyadh came under a drone attack on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump said it could take longer than its projected four-to-five week time frame for its military operations against Iran. 

Defence Forces spokesperson Commandant Alex Quigley has said that the Irish troops on Unifil duty in South Lebanon are “all well and accounted for.” 

Comdt. Quigley said operations were ongoing and protection measures were in place to mitigate against the volatility of the region and the current “heightened intensity.” 

“The important thing to know is that even in times of heightened intensity like this, the Irish Defence Forces personnel are trained and prepared to operate in these environments, so the framework operations are still ongoing and the monitoring of the cessation of hostilities and supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces are still ongoing, but during these periods there are times when the personnel may be deployed to the bunkers due to incoming strikes, and we saw some of them yesterday, but the important thing is that from the bunkers they are still able to maintain a situational awareness to enable the troops to still fulfil the mandated tasks," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Tuesday. 

Comdt. Quigley said there were airstrikes in the area and that protection measures could be scaled up to match the intensity of the situation. The troops were able to maintain “situational awareness” from the bunkers and remain in communication with forward posts.

Irish troops had undergone a six-month training programme prior to their deployment, which prepared them for situations such as the current one, he said.

“The troops are well led and they're well prepared to operate in periods of both heightened intensity and low intensity. So, that would be the most important thing there.” 

The Defence Forces press office would be updating families of the personnel in South Lebanon, he added. Camp Shamrock had wifi, so when the situation allowed, troops could contact home.

Flight disruptions

At the moment, approximately 900 Irish citizens have been caught in what is being described as the most significant airline disruption since the pandemic. 

Minister for State, Neale Richmond, said that UAE officials have said "that priority is to work with transit passengers at the moment". 

"[They] are at the moment either already on a holiday or maybe not due to travel yet. The UAE, in fairness, has covered other accommodation costs and are making sure they are safe," Mr Richmond told Newstalk Breakfast on Tuesday. 

A cyclist rides past as black plume of smoke is seen rising from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 1, 2026. Picture: AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

In the latest travel disruption, which has seen most commercial flights remain grounded, some 15 flights were operated by Etihad Airlines. They left Abu Dhabi on Monday. 

At home, all 16 flights scheduled between Dublin Airport and airports in the Middle East have been cancelled again on Tuesday due to airspace constraints. 

"Qatar Airways has cancelled its six flights scheduled for between Dublin Airport and Doha (three inbound/three outbound), as well as its four services scheduled for Wednesday (two inbound/two outbound)," Head of Media Relations for the Daa, Graeme McQueen, said.

“Etihad has cancelled all four of its flights between Dublin Airport and Abu Dhabi (two inbound/two outbound). Etihad has also cancelled its early morning inbound service scheduled for Wednesday. Emirates has cancelled the six flights it was due to operate between Dublin Airport and Dubai (three inbound/three outbound). No decision has been made on its Wednesday schedule," he added.

The latest round of cancellations means airlines have so far cancelled 56 flights since Saturday between Dublin and the Middle East. 

“Further disruption is possible over the days ahead. As always, passengers should contact their airline directly for updates regarding the status of their flight," Mr McQueen added. 

Air France-KLM has cancelled its flights to and from the Middle East, the Franco-Dutch group said in statements overnight.

It said the safety of its customers and crew was a top priority and that it will assess the situation before resuming flights.

Air France cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh up to and including Thursday.

KLM, the Dutch arm of the group, has cancelled flights to and from Dammam in Saudi Arabia as well as Dubai and Riyadh until March 9, it said in a separate statement late on Monday.

Mr Richmond said he feared for "everyone in the region." 

"Whenever we hear of military escalation of this level, there is a very real concern for human safety," he added. 

There are an estimated 22,000 Irish citizens living across the Middle East, with the Department of Foreign Affairs urging them to take shelter amid escalating conflict. So far, some 7,000 citizens have registered with the DFA in the last few weeks, with TD Richmond calling for others to do the same. 

"Understandably, people are very concerned, and equally, we have an awful lot of parents, particularly in my constituency, who have a son or a daughter who's gone out there teaching or working, and they're concerned," he added. 

"The main thing for us to get the message across is to follow local advice, register at the embassy, and make sure that they stay in touch with the Department of Foreign Affairs," Mr Richmond added.