They just considered for some time the idea of asking cash from passengers, as the credit cards were not going through, and AF offices have been closed for the last 6 months, the flights to DAM having been discontinued due to the events we are all familiar of.
That's doesn't mean either DAM airport is under fire...
DAM is really close to BEY, really...
Yes, the French have some acquaintances with the area, having lost 58 soldiers in Beyrouth in a suicide bombing on October 23, 1983 - two minutes before another similar attack killed 241 US Marines a couple of miles away.
And also Syria and Lebanon were defended with some success against attacking British and Australian forces in 1941.
Now back to the event : well, a diverting decision is always keeping people busy in the cockpit, and even more other people after, who were not part of the issue, as we all know.
Eventually they managed to find quite quickly a channel to convey the cash for the fuel, so eventually no passengers were disturbed.