Thousands of Brits in Middle East seek help as conflict causes travel disruption

More than 100,000 Britons have registered for UK government help in Middle East.

It follows United States and Israel carrying out air strikes on Iran.

In response, Iran has fired missiles at Israel, and other nearby countries that have ties with the US like Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. These are often known as Gulf states.

There are lots of UK citizens that live in these countries and many people from the UK also go there on holiday.

However, many flights to and from the region have been cancelled for safety reasons while the fighting is still going on, meaning planes can't land or take off.

So many people who live there, who are there on holiday, or visiting family or travelling can't easily get back to the UK.

Read on to find on out more about how this is affecting people.

As many normal flights are not currently running, the UK Government is creating a register so they can give information to people who are stuck.

British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar and United Arab Emirates have been urged to register their presence to receive updates from the Foreign Office.

The government has used schemes like this in the past to provide urgent updates but the number of people and countries affected in this case is very large.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC there were an estimated 300,000 British citizens in Gulf countries, where much of the airspace is closed.

She urged people to register and follow local advice, which in most countries was to shelter in place. Currently 100,000 of them have been marked on the register.

The UK Government says it is preparing for "potential scenarios" if regular flights remain grounded, one possibility is an evacuation for the people who are stranded.

There are also British people, including families, who live in Gulf countries permanently and work or go to school there.

One of the places which has the most British people living is the United Arab Emirates, and its capital Dubai, where hotels and the city's main airport are among the sites which have been damaged.

Because of the conflict, many countries have told schools and universities to move to online teaching to keep pupils safe and allow them to shelter at home.