On February 28, Ehab Kheir, MD, consultant trauma and orthopedic surgeon at Mediclinic Parkview Hospital in Dubai, flew out of Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport with his wife for a holiday in Tanzania. Only an hour later, the terminal was struck by a drone and evacuated. Speaking with Medscape News Middle East, Kheir said the timing felt surreal.

“It was very strange initially. We felt like we were the luckiest people on Earth.”

For the first couple of days, Kheir and his wife, who are Egyptian-British, tried to enjoy their holiday, thinking the attacks might prove to be a brief disruption. But it soon became clear that the situation was not a one-off event.

This meant they had a difficult decision to make: return to Dubai despite the uncertainty, or instead head to family bases in the UK or Egypt. After looking into flights, they found that none of the options would be straightforward.

“There were lots of hurdles around flights and availability. So we decided, why don’t we just wait and see?”

After several days of delays, rescheduling, and rerouting, the couple returned to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 10.

“Everybody from our family was like, ‘Are you mad? Do you really want to return to a place with a war going on? Or do you want to come back to Egypt or the UK and then wait for things to settle down?’”

Kheir said work was the deciding factor. He had surgery scheduled for the following Monday and felt obliged to return to his patients.

Kheir’s decision reflects a broader reality in the UAE, where expatriates make up most of the population and a significant share of the healthcare workforce, leaving many clinicians facing similar questions about staying or leaving.

Expat Doctors, Expat Country

Several clinicians who spoke with Medscape News Middle East said that, despite the attacks and the uncertainty, they had chosen to stay.

Shiva Faramarzi Babadi, MD, general practitioner at Maison Apogée Clinic in Dubai who specializes in aesthetic medicine and is originally from Iran, said the first days were frightening, but daily life later became more manageable.

“Of course, we have to make some alterations in the current situation,” she said, noting that her work has been only partly affected. Because most of her procedures are short, clinic operations have largely continued, although longer procedures have been deferred in case of emergencies or evacuation.

“All in all, we feel safe,” Faramarzi Babadi said. “I haven’t seen many changes, although, of course, it’s less busy than before. Most people here are expats; so many people have gone back home, or they just prefer to stay home unless they need to go out.”

Like Kheir, Faramarzi Babadi has options outside the UAE, in Iran and Scotland. She said she chose not to leave.

“My family back home in Iran keeps calling me, asking, ‘Are you OK? We heard the missiles are attacking you,’ but honestly, it’s been fine.”

Reassurance, With Limits

Physicians in the UAE interviewed for this story described public alerts, day-to-day continuity, and practical support as reasons they felt able to remain. Authorities also launched the free Itma’en mental health hotline for citizens, residents, and visitors feeling stress or anxiety from the conflict. Additionally, airport authorities activated continuity plans for stranded passengers during the airspace disruption.

But the official response also included clear limits on what residents could show or say publicly about the attacks. On March 6, WAM, the state news agency, reported that UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi warned against photographing or sharing images of impact sites or damage from projectiles or shrapnel, saying such material could incite panic and create a false impression of conditions in the country. On March 15, WAM reported that 25 people of various nationalities had been ordered to expedited trial over online content authorities said harmed defense measures or spread misleading material. Separately, CBS News reported that tourists, expatriates, and influencers had been detained or charged under the UAE’s cybercrime laws over posts related to the conflict. 

That context complicates a simple narrative of public confidence. Some residents may feel reassured, while reports from state media and international outlets indicate a sharply tightened information environment.

Still, Faramarzi Babadi said, “[The UAE authorities] consider everybody as the same society, and they take care of everyone.”

She added that the visible presence of senior leaders in the country had reinforced her confidence in staying.

A Strained Routine

Nusaybah Abubakar, MBBS, pediatrician at Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi who is originally from Nigeria, told Medscape News Middle East that she had considered leaving in the first days of the conflict but ultimately stayed.

For Abubakar, reassurance came not only from official messaging but also from how residents supported one another. She described parents sharing practical materials, including PDF guides on how to help children stay calm during alerts and disruptions.

“This is the time when everyone is seeing we’re all in this together,” she said.

Abubakar and Faramarzi Babadi both said they had not seen evidence of a broad departure of expatriate clinicians. Abubakar said that, in her experience, some residents seemed more concerned about distance-learning directives and disruption to children’s schooling than about the direct threat of attack.

Asked what preparations she was making in case the conflict worsened, Abubakar said she tried not to dwell on it and hoped the crisis would end soon.

For now, Kheir said many residents appear to be adapting to the new normal.

“Since we came back, most people have gotten used to the alarms that go off daily,” he said on March 25. On the ground, he added, little was happening beyond the sounds overhead.