Missile sirens ring out every few hours. Young children scream in terror. Fire lights up the sky.
For more than a thousandAfghan refugeestrapped at a U.S.-run camp in Qatar, this is daily life since the United States and Israel started a war with Iran less than a week ago.
Since the U.S.withdrewfrom Afghanistan in 2021, these individuals have been awaiting resettlement in the United States at Camp As Sayliyah, a U.S. military base-turned refugee camp outside Qatar's capital of Doha.
Many of the 1,100 Afghan refugees in limbo at the base served alongside U.S. forces during the occupation of their country, and some 150 of them are family members of active duty U.S. servicemembers. They can no longer return to their homeland, where they would be at risk of persecution or death by the ruling Taliban government.
The new war in the Middle East launched by the Trump administration and Israel on Feb. 28 has plunged them into terror and confusion as Iran's retaliatory missiles fly overhead and are intercepted by U.S. and Qatari air defenses, raining down shrapnel. Throughout the night, sleepless people stand outside watching missiles streak through the sky, residents told USA TODAY. Children shriek as explosions sound close by.
Smoke rises following an explosion,
after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Smoke rises following an explosion after the U.S. and Israel reportedly launched an attack against Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026, in this screen grab taken from video." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. Two loud blasts were heard in Tehran on February 28 morning by AFP journalists, and two plumes of thick smoke were seen over the centre and east of the Iranian capital.
Israel's defence ministry announced it had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran as sirens sounded in Jerusalem and people across the country received phone alerts about an "extremely serious" threat." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist after disembarking Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 27, 2026. Hours later, Trump made live comments about the military strikes he launched against Iran." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Buildings inin Tehran stand after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, February 28, 2026." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran
Smoke rises following an explosion,after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026.
Four refugees at the camp spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive situation. Camp residents received messages from officials and Qatar's government ordering them not to speak publicly about the missile attacks since the war broke out days ago.
"We came from war," a 14-year-old girl living in the camp told USA TODAY. "Right now, it's also war here, missiles coming, missiles going, explosions every day."
"We didn't do any crime," she said. "We're here in this camp like someone who is in jail."
About 800 of the camp's residents, who fled Afghanistan after the United States withdrew from their country, were cleared to enter the United States under the refugee resettlement program after extensive vetting and interview processes, according to a letter sent to Trump administration officials by AfghanEvac, an advocacy organization for Afghan allies. Withinhours of taking officein 2025, PresidentDonald Trumpsuspendedthe relocation program indefinitely, plunging their lives into chaos and uncertainty. Many Afghans have now been stranded at the Qatar camp for years.
After the initial U.S-Israel attack on Iran, the country launched a barrage of missiles and drones at U.S. allies in the region, including Qatar. Over the ensuing days, refugees said Camp As Sayliyah, a former Army base in a desert suburb of Doha, has descended into panic, as sirens intermittently blare throughout the day and residents shelter in tiny shipping containers.
In a joint letter to the State Department and members of Congress, residents of the camp wrote that "the container housing units where we live provide no meaningful protection, and there are no reinforced shelters immediately accessible to residents. Mothers and children often have nowhere secure to go when these alarms sound."
"Approximately 1,100 civilians now live in this situation of uncertainty, fear, and waiting."
A State Department spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email, "We are actively addressing all related operational concerns in the region," including "the safety of residents at Camp As-Sayliyah (CAS) under U.S. care."
Missile fragments crash into family's shelter
The missile alerts, refugees at the camp told USA TODAY, came every 15 minutes or less on the first day of the war. They're now happening every few hours.
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Young children and pregnant women scream in terror as explosions sound nearby, the refugees said. According to the 14-year-old girl, most people in the camp, including the girl and her parents, have already been prescribed antidepressants for their high stress. One man said he believes his wife delivered her baby prematurely days ago due to the stress of being trapped in a war with no way out.
The missile barrage has not yet caused physical injuries to those in the camp, but multiple refugees reported that shrapnel from an intercepted missile had crashed into one family's empty shelter. Photos and videos of the aftermath showed a gaping hole in the roof and people inspecting dinner-plate-sized shards of metal found on the ground.
A 50-year-old man who fled Afghanistan after working for more than a decade with the U.S. government said he begged camp authorities to relocate children to a safer place, but they said there was nowhere else to go.
On March 2, the man said, around a hundred people packed their bags and tried to escape through the camp's main gate in hopes of reaching Doha and pleading for help from Qatari officials, but security guards ordered the group back.
"The government is busy. They can do nothing for you," they told the man. "They are busy and saving their own people."
People who have lived in the camp for years have already been "crippled psychologically," said the man. But the missile barrage, he said, has pushed many over the edge.
The camp has become "a place like hell," he said. "It is only [by] the kindness of God that we are saved, yet still nothing has happened to us, and if it continues, the situation will get worse and worse."
Refugees in the camp live in large warehouses, hundreds of people to one structure, where they sleep on bunk beds. Since the missile barrage began, people have moved into metal shipping crates to sleep, they said. Photos and videos they shared with USA TODAY showed families of seven and eight packed into one container, children huddled in narrow crannies against the wall. As missiles explode outside, the walls shake, refugees said.
A father who has lived in the camp for more than a year with his wife and five children said his youngest daughter, who is 10, has stopped eating or sleeping since the missile barrage began.
She is "retraumatized," he said. "All day and night, she is crying."
The State Department says it plans to close the camp by March 31, but it has not articulated its plans for where occupants will go next. The refugees who spoke to USA TODAY said they have been told they will be sent to an undetermined third country. At a meeting with State Department officials on March 3, they were told that a decision about their next destination is still pending.
"The war has started, and we don't know what will happen," said the father.
"What will be our future? What will be the future of our kids?"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Afghan allies in Qatar camp trapped in 'hell,' as Iran missiles rain
Missile sirens ring out every few hours. Young children scream in terror. Fire lights up the sky. For ...
