Sara Elsherbiny was preparing to celebrate her birthday by breaking her Ramadan fast with friends at a restaurant in Dubai.
Instead, as the sun sets on Feb. 28, an explosion echoed nearby, shaking his house and shaking the city.
“It was loud, it actually shook the house, and it was the first time we’ve had anything like that,” Elsherbiny told NBC News.
In a different part of the city, Ali and his wife were also resting on the same day – the 11th day of Ramadan. He remembered watching the arrows fly across the sky.
“We fasted normally but the Ramadan vibes were gone,” she said. “We were concerned about further progress.”
A few hours earlier, the United States and Israel had launched strikes on Iran, leading to retaliatory Iranian attacks across the region.
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As Ramadan nears its end and the start of Eid al-Fitr, which is usually a time of celebration and public prayer has been ramped up across the Middle East, as ongoing strikes rekindle one of the holiest times for Muslims. Residents of the region, some of whom declined to use their full names or speak to NBC News on condition of anonymity for security reasons – described their terrifying and terrifying moments of the past month.
Across the region, Muslims say the rhythm of daily life during the holy month – from the traditional iftar meal to late-night gatherings and Eid preparations – has been disrupted by warnings of air raids, evacuations and the threat of airstrikes.
It’s very close to home
For others, the war has collided with deeply personal moments.
A Dubai-based media expert, who did not want to be identified, said he was struck by the explosion on February 28 as explosions erupted across the city.
“We didn’t know what to do, should we go to the hospital or call an ambulance?” he said.
Eventually she and her husband drove to a nearby hospital, where doctors assured her she was safe. But as he was being prepared for the plague, house phones rang out warnings urging people to stay indoors and stay away from windows due to the threat of missiles.
“My body was shaking,” she said.
Some have experienced the horrors of war.
Samah, a businessman who owns an entertainment business in a warehouse in Dubai, said the blast hit 1.2 miles away while he was at work.
“I never thought that one day I would hear these sounds and feel that my life, my family, my cats and the country that I have called home since I was a child could be threatened,” she said. “It sounds like a real nightmare.”
Samah said later he found out that the debris from the explosion hit a car and killed its driver.
“I kept thinking that I was far from death, but somehow I survived and was given another day to live,” she said. “That thought stayed with me and made the whole experience feel so real and so heavy.”
A region on the edge
Since the war began, more than 2,000 people have been killed in the Middle East. In Iran, Israeli and American strikes have killed more than 1,200 people, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. About 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, and eight were killed in the United Arab Emirates, according to local officials. Retaliatory strikes killed 15 civilians and two soldiers in Israel. 13 US service members were killed in action, and three were killed from non-combat causes
