A Briton living in Dubai has shared fresh footage from the United Arab Emirates just hours after Iran launched strikes against neighbouring countries in the Middle East.
Human rights lawyer Ivon Sampson, who is supposed to be returning to the UK tomorrow, recorded from his balcony after a huge blaze appeared to engulf the entrance of the Fairmont The Palm in the Palm Jumeirah area.
Speaking on The Saturday Five, Mr Sampson said: "Since about 4pm up until 8pm, which is two hours ago, there were bombs coming across where I am. You heard explosions, maybe three or four, sequentially."
Taking GB News to his balcony, Mr Sampson added "You think it's relatively quiet here, but there's hardly any traffic at the moment.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
"It went across this building and into Jebel Ali, where there's an industrial complex. That's probably what their target was.
"We're just not used to it in Dubai. It's a country where this sort of thing just doesn't happen."
The human rights lawyer also explained how the aerial bombardment had sparked fears within the growing British community in the Middle East.
He said: "The British community is contacting each other on various WhatsApp groups. I am getting lots of messages from my friends telling me where the bombs are dropping. It's quite scary here, to be honest."
Human rights lawyer Ivon Sampson, who was supposed to return to the UK tomorrow, recorded from his balcony after a huge blaze appeared to engulf the entrance of the Fairmont The Palm in the Palm Jumeirah area
|GB NEWS
It has been estimated that around 250,000 British nationals live in Dubai.
Dubai also welcomed more than 1.3 million visitors from the UK in 2024.
However, Mr Sampson stressed that Britons living in Dubai have become increasingly concerned about being left stranded in the UAE.
"They all had the same concern that if it is a long, drawn-out war, we will all be stuck in Dubai," he said.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Mr Sampson shared footage from his balcony
|GB NEWS
"I was supposed to go back tomorrow for a trial and mediation next week, and that's obviously been put on hold."
Britons in the Middle East were told to take shelter earlier today after Iran launched its retaliatory strikes following a joint operation conducted by Israel and the United States.
The Foreign Office said British nationals should “immediately shelter in place” and urged them to remain indoors in a secure location, avoid all travel and follow instructions from the local authorities.
Meanwhile, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran and the UAE have all closed their airspaces, leaving thousands of British travellers stranded.
Footage shows blackened smoke billowing into the sky | XSpeaking to GB News shortly after Iran launched its air strikes, a British tourist said: "We got an alert to seek immediate shelter, and then I heard some explosions."
"I'm just a bit worried about whether I'll be able to come back if all the airspaces are still closed," the tourist added.
Emirates, which has halted all flights to and from Dubai, is urging its passengers to check the latest updates before travelling to the airport.
Qatar Airways has also suspended all services to and from Doha, saying the “safety of our passengers and employees is always our highest priority”.
Rockets were also intercepted overhead as people sat by a pool in Dubai
| GB NEWSMeanwhile, Air India has cancelled all flights to destinations in the Middle East and told customers to contact its call centre for updates.
The UK Government this evening condemned Iranian strikes on Dubai.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The scenes in the Palm Hotel in Dubai are awful.
"The UK condemns these indiscriminate Iranian strikes.”
More From GB News