US student rescued from Mideast describes missile activity in Abu Dhabi when class trip turned 'scary'

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A high school class trip turned into an unexpected brush with conflict when Christian Liess and his classmates were stranded in Abu Dhabi amid missile strikes in the region, forcing parents and U.S. officials to scramble to bring the students home.

“It was a little scary, to be honest,” Liess told “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Friday.

Liess and his classmates arrived in Abu Dhabi for what should have been a routine layover in the United Arab Emirates on their way to Thailand for a class trip. The layover, however, turned into an unexpected stay in a region facing active threats amid Operation Epic Fury.

“We saw some missiles intercepted while we were at the airport, and then for the next few days, while we stayed at a hotel, we kept hearing missiles go off. We saw, I think, some of the defense missiles intercept the attacking missiles.”

“We were able to get out thanks to a lot of people working here and the administration,” Liess said.

Back home, the crisis unfolded in real time for parents watching from thousands of miles away.

Liess’ father, David, said he and his wife were scared amid the uncertainty.

“We got on the State Department website and filled out the STEP form,” he recalled, referring to the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program that allows U.S. citizens abroad to receive security updates and assistance.

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A man walking away from a large column of black smoke rising from a warehouse in an industrial area.

“Then we called all the other parents and were like, ‘Fill this out.’ Some of them already had, and we all then just prayed.”

Days later, the family received the call they had been waiting for: The students were in the air and headed home.

“I’m not a crier, but I wept,” David recalled.

The trip had been part of what Liess described as the school’s annual cultural education program, with Thailand selected as the 2026 destination. Instead, students found themselves monitoring missile alerts and sheltering in a hotel as tensions escalated in the Middle East.

Despite the circumstances, Liess described the experience as interesting and said it taught him an important lesson.

“You’d see a big streak of light go up in the sky and then a big poof of smoke,” he said.

“Definitely read the news a little bit before you go on a trip.”