The Limits of Speech and the Rationale of Limitations
Despite the First Amendment, the United States (US) does not have a free speech-oriented culture [1, 2]; this is why RMS can speak easily in Switzerland, whereas in the US it's a bit more challenging (there are interferences).
Sometimes national security is used to curtail free speech and sometimes limitations on free speech become a threat to national security. When the public is not aware of something or is not permitted to speak of something, taboo topics emerge and they will create intrigue, potentially misinformation as well (speculations follow uncertainties).
Healthier societies foster transparency, even when such transparency is inconvenient to some parties. In practice, secrets lead to distrust and a lack of trust is a recipe for hostilities.
It is somewhat understandable that nations facing a barrage of missiles won't wish to give "the enemy" information on strikes, as it can help aim/calibrate subsequent strikes. In practice, however, putting people in jail for merely documenting facts is problematic.
This problem is not limited to UAE; it seems to be part of an international trend. █