Military strikes and counter-strikes continue across the Middle East region as the United States and Israel wage war on Iran causing thousands of civilian deaths and injuries. On Friday, UN chief António Guterres warned that "the situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control. " Meanwhile, Tom Fletcher, the UN relief chief, described the current state of affairs as one of "grave peril," appealing for urgent protection of civilians.
“All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region — and pose a grave a risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people,” UN Secretary-General Guterres said in a statement.
“The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control,” he warned – adding that it was time to stop the fighting and get to “serious diplomatic negotiations” as the "stakes could not be higher."
Staggering amounts of money spent on destruction and killing with impunity, while politicians boast about cutting aid budgets
Speaking to reporters in New York, Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, noted that there was a “sustained attack against the systems and laws meant to restrain us from our worst instincts and from reckless warfare.”
“We’re seeing these crises escalate rapidly with consequences that are out of control for those instigating the conflict, and we’re seeing increasing linkages between these different humanitarian crises – none of them good,” he said.
“We’re seeing staggering amounts of money, reportedly $ 1 billion a day, funding this war, spent on destruction, while politicians continue to boast about cutting aid budgets for those in greatest need,” adding the world was “seeing an increasingly deadly alliance of technology and killing with impunity.”
Fletcher emphasized that the world needs “calmer heads to prevail.”
“Actions, of course, have consequences, and once again, civilians are facing those consequences across the Middle East. So once again, civilians must be protected – full stop,” he said.
Fletcher stressed that the humanitarian community is fully mobilized and distributing life-saving aid, including food, medicine and shelter.
He spoke on Thursday with Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, reaffirming the UN’s readiness to help civilians needs humanitarian support.
Fletcher warned that “war doesn’t stay neatly within borders or on desktop military plans,” but that it “tears through markets, supply chains [and] food prices,” hitting the most vulnerable first and hardest.
When maritime corridors are disrupted, “food prices will rise. Health systems will be squeezed, and basic commodities, including our humanitarian supplies, will become much harder to access,” he said.
The major crisis in commercial shipping caused by the war has practically halted all vessel movement in the Strait of Hormuz, south of Iran. This is already impacting UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) seeking to dispatch lifesaving relief to Gaza and Sudan, among other emergency situations.
Fletcher also warned that the US-Israeli war against Iran will divert attention away from other urgent humanitarian crises, such as those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, South Sudan, and Ukraine, despite ongoing conflicts in these countries.
“We sometimes hear that these conflicts have been ended. Let me repeat that they have not”, he said.
No let-up in suffering in Iran as humanitarian impact of hostilities escalates
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed deep concern on Friday about the growing humanitarian impact of hostilities across the Middle East, especially on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
In Iran, heavy airstrikes reportedly continued into the early hours of Saturday, including in the capital, Tehran, and other densely populated areas. Homes, hospitals, and schools keep getting hit. According to Iran's health ministry, 200 children have been killed, and more than 2,000 injured people are receiving treatment in hospitals.
Overall, more than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the United States and Israel began launching attacks on February 28, according to Iranian diplomats who cited the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) on Friday. Figures released Thursday by the IRCS show that more than 3,600 civilian sites — including over 3,000 residences and hundreds of commercial centers — have apparently been hit. Medical facilities have also been impacted.
The IRCS reports that 24 health care facilities have been damaged since the escalation began, including several hospitals in Tehran on Thursday. As of Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) has verified 13 attacks impacting health care. Educational facilities have also been damaged. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), at least 20 schools have been damaged.
Lebanon in peril
Widespread displacement orders and ongoing Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon are placing already heavily impacted civilians under increasing strain, killing and injuring hundreds. Health services in affected areas remain disrupted while entire suburbs of Beirut have been evacuated.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, at least 217 people have been killed and 798 injured as of Friday night. Across the country, more than 100,000 people are sheltering in collective centers, and many more are displaced. The Ministry of Social Affairs has announced the opening of additional shelters, including sports arenas, public venues, as well as all public schools and universities.
Aid agencies are working closely with national and local authorities to scale up assistance in shelters and host communities. Since Thursday, hospitals in South Beirut have been forced to suspend operations and evacuate patients, and they remain non-operational. The Israeli army has carried out multiple airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
In southern Lebanon, UN peacekeepers continue to observe Hezbollah attacks on Israel and Israeli airstrikes and shelling of Lebanon. They have also witnessed ground incursions by the Israel Defense Forces across the Blue Line into Lebanese territory.
“Israel's military ground incursions into southern Lebanon, blanket displacement orders for the population in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Bekka region and the full area to the south of the Litani River, and its continued airstrikes on different parts of the country are bringing more misery, more suffering to an already weary civilian population,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), on Friday in Geneva.
According to Shamdasani, warnings and displacement orders reportedly affected more than 100 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, home to tens of thousands of people, and risk affecting many more.
“In addition, on Thursday, the Israeli army urged the complete evacuation of almost the entire southern suburb of Beirut, creating fear and panic among residents, as well as the Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon,” she said.
Meanwhile, Syrian authorities report that over 30,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria over the past week.
For his part, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned that “Lebanon is becoming a key flashpoint.” Addressing a press stakeout on Friday, he called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.
Türk said was “extremely worried about the latest developments following Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel and Israel’s heavy counterstrikes, as well as its extensive displacement orders that have already forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.”
UN human rights chief calls for immediate de-escalation
According to the UN human rights chief, the escalating crisis in the Middle East, is spreading rapidly with potentially devastating global economic and environmental consequences.
Türk expressed grave concern over the widening conflict and condemned the inflammatory rhetoric that is fueling further violence.
“The crisis sparked in the Middle East one week ago following US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Iran’s counterattacks, has been spreading like wildfire. It is causing significant damage in Iran, Israel and at least a dozen other countries, mostly in the Gulf, with risks of major economic and environmental ramifications across the world,” Türk said.
He criticized the lack of progress toward de-escalation and highlighted a cycle of bombings, destruction, killings, and escalating tensions. He also voiced concern over what he described as confusion surrounding international law and a disregard for fundamental human values.
“We are only seeing more inflammatory, bellicose rhetoric, more bombings, more destruction, killings and escalation, only fueling it further. Confusion has also been sown around international law – and some have openly derided the fundamental values of our common humanity,” Türk stated.
The UN human rights chief urged all parties involved to take immediate steps toward de-escalation and called on other nations to publicly pressure those engaged in the conflict to back down.
“Cool heads must prevail if we are to prevent further terror and devastation for civilians,” Türk said.
“Given the magnitude of this crisis,” he issued a strong appeal to world leaders to reaffirm their commitment to international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and the UN Charter, warning of the potential for further crises.
We “cannot afford for more powder kegs to ignite,” he concluded.