Panicked Kenyan and Ethiopian workers prevented from leaving Lebanon

The US, UK, Australia, France and Canada have all issued official advice for their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible.

But getting out is easier for some than others.

Ms Jerop said it was common for many employers to take their passports on arrival.

Even with a passport, domestic workers still need an exit visa to leave – paperwork which must be approved by their boss.

This is allowed to happen under the country’s “kafala” (sponsorship) system for foreign workers – which employs an estimated 250,000 people.

“Kafala” gives individuals or companies permits to employ foreign workers. This means that their immigration status is entirely dependent on their employer and they have limited rights.

Employers can take advantage of their position and many women are overworked, underpaid and physically abused – though this is not the case for Ms Jerop.

Despite calls for significant reforms the system continues across several Arab states.

Daniela Rovina, communications officer at the International Organization for Migration, told the BBC that under international law a person must be allowed to leave a country if a conflict occurs.

In Ms Jerop’s case, her employers want her to continue working in Lebanon.

“They are saying the situation has been here in Lebanon for many years, and there is nothing to worry about,” she says. “But for us the tension is high. We are not used to these kinds of [bombing] sounds.”

But even with papers, Ms Jerop and her fellow domestic workers face other challenges to leave.

“Few flights are available and they are very expensive,” she says.

Flights to Kenya cost up to $1,000 (£770).

Banchi Yimer, who founded an organisation supporting the rights of Ethiopian domestic workers, says the average monthly salary used to be $150 but since the cost-of-living crisis, which hit Lebanon hard, “many are not getting paid at all”.

“Every day we receive calls from women panicking… they ask us if we have any [evacuation] plan, if we can do anything about it.”

Chiku, another domestic worker from Kenya, whose name we have changed to protect her safety, cannot pay for the flight.

She has been living in Baabda, in the west of Lebanon, for almost a year.

“I personally would like to go back home. But the tickets are so costly,” she says. “And my mum and dad also can’t afford that money.”

She has been living in fear for the past few weeks, but like Ms Jerop, her employer has told her to stay.

“They say I can’t leave because I haven’t finished my contract,” Chiku says. “But is this contract more important than my life?”

The Lebanese labour ministry has not yet responded to a BBC request for comment.