An Irish family stranded in Lebanon has called on the Government to help them leave after Israel launched airstrikes against Hezbollah targets yesterday.
Authorities in Lebanon said 492 people were killed and tens of thousands are fleeing for safety.
The Zabad family from Kilkenny made the appeal after their flights from Beirut were cancelled last night.
"We came to Lebanon and we are stuck in a war zone. As an Irish citizen I am asking my Government to see how they can manage to take us from here. Other countries are doing it for their people," Munir Zabad said.
Mr Zabad, 53, his wife Ghada, 47, and their 24-year-old daughter Ghadir and 12-year-old son Hassan, arrived in south Lebanon two weeks ago for the funeral of Mr Zabad's father.
Yesterday, Ghadir became engaged to Ali kachab and was due to meet and celebrate with her soon to be in-laws in the city of Nabatieh.
However, when the family arrived in Nabatieh, people were fleeing and escaping to Beirut, so they did the same.
"We saw people like closing their shops and running away. Honestly, it was overwhelming. It was all the emotions were like on overdrive at that stage, trying to just get out of that city and like just get as far away from that as possible," said Ghadir.
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Their journey to Beirut was dangerous and stressful.
"There was people just driving like crazy … there was accidents happening all over the place as well. People just driving really fast … trying to get away with their families and … ambulances were coming and going and bombs as well. It was complete chaos," added Ghadir.
Responding to Israeli claims it is striking Hezbollah targets, Ghadir said: "Israel says a lot of things … they're not targeting Hezbollah, they're targeting innocent civilians who have absolutely nothing to do with Hezbollah … and they're just trying to live their lives."
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Since arriving in Beirut, the Zabad family learned that a relation was killed in the bombing attacks on Monday.
Ghadir called on the Irish Government to help get her family back to Ireland. She added she would also like to see her fiancé, who is a Lebanese national, moved out of Lebanon too.
She said if he cannot travel to Ireland, she may not either.
A number of airlines, including Qatar Airways and Air Arabia, have suspended flights to and from Beirut for the next two days.
In a statement to RTÉ News, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it "has undertaken an extensive review of our citizens registered in Lebanon, to establish contact with these citizens, confirm their status as present in Lebanon, and reiterate our travel advice. The department, including through our Embassy in Cairo, remains in regular contact with Irish citizens in Lebanon.
"Irish citizens in Lebanon who cannot leave, and who have not already done so, are asked to register with the Embassy of Ireland in Cairo."
The department added that it has undertaken significant contingency planning to prepare for a possible consular crisis as a result of an escalation in Lebanon.
Any evacuation scenario, it said, would need to be a coordinated international effort and require extensive cooperation with key partners.
The department said it is working closely with EU, UK and other partners "to exchange information and coordinate our consular response to emergencies, including contingency planning for the evacuation of Irish citizens from Lebanon.
"Any evacuation of civilians, including Irish citizens, from Lebanon is likely to be a complex and difficult operation. If the security situation deteriorates, we may be limited in the assistance we can provide."
Citizens should not rely on evacuation options being possible if commercial options become unavailable, the department added.
