Civilians and civilian infrastructure in Iran continue to bear the brunt of attacks by the United States and Israel. The Iranian Ministry of Health reports more than 1,900 deaths and nearly 25,000 injuries, including over 1,600 children and at least 4,000 women, since February 28. Casualties have been reported in at least 20 provinces, with the highest numbers in the capital, Tehran, and the province of Hormozgan.
Nearly one month has passed since the US and Israel initiated a war on Iran, sparking a wider regional conflict. On Friday, officials from United Nations agencies, the Red Cross Movement, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) highlighted the terror among civilians fleeing bombardment, who have "no safe space" to go.
Hostilities continue to intensify and expand across multiple fronts, driving displacement, disrupting livelihoods, and placing mounting strain on humanitarian operations amid persistent access constraints. Homes, medical facilities, schools, courts, transport networks, and energy installations have been struck across all 31 provinces of Iran.
Millions Flee Their Homes
Escalating attacks by the US and Israel have forced people to relocate to safer areas, which makes them more vulnerable and often disrupts their access to essential support, basic services, and livelihoods.
According to the Iranian government, an estimated 3.2 million people have temporarily left their homes to seek safety across the country. Most Iranians are fleeing Tehran and other major urban centers for rural areas in the north of the country.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that 180,000 of these people have been directly affected by the attacks, prompting them to join the many others who fear further escalation and move toward areas of the cities and provinces they perceive as safer. The humanitarian fallout from the escalating hostilities increases daily, with civilians shouldering the greatest burden.
“After one month of relentless Israeli and American bombing across Iran, the civilian population is exhausted and traumatized. Millions have already fled in search of safety,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), in a statement on Friday.
“Others stay in fear that displacement will be even more dangerous as nowhere seems to be safe.”
Civilian infrastructure under attack
Reports suggest that essential services in Iran have sustained significant damage. As of Thursday, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) reported damage to over 87,000 residential and commercial buildings, 600 schools, 289 health facilities, 17 IRCS centers, three helicopters, and 48 emergency vehicles.
Attacks targeting civilian objects or infrastructure essential to the civilian population constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and are considered war crimes. The law of war is unequivocal: Objects that serve civilians are not legitimate military targets.
On Friday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) highlighted the "rapidly deteriorating" impact of strikes in Tehran, a city of roughly nine million people that "feels completely empty."
“While Tehran still maintains some basic services, some cities in the south are facing water and electricity cuts. Not to mention the fact that we have a nationwide internet blackout since February 28,” Maria Martinez, IFRC Head of Delegation in Iran, told journalists in Geneva.
Aid workers face peril and personal loss
The humanitarian official described how one IFRC search and rescue responder “discovered the bodies of his own family beneath the rubble. In Qom, another first responder recovered his aunt and her husband alongside a young child.”
“This is the reality humanitarian workers are facing saving lives while carrying unimaginable personal loss,” Martinez said.
These aid workers are themselves not immune to these hostilities. Iranian health authorities have reported 23 deaths and 112 injuries among healthcare workers, while IRCS reports one death and 14 injuries among relief workers as of Thursday.
“Countless homes, hospitals and schools have been damaged or destroyed. My colleagues tell me that in nearly every neighborhood of Tehran buildings are destroyed with surrounding damages,” said Egeland.
“Desperate families tape their windows to prevent shattered glass that has already caused too many civilians casualties. “
The NRC Secretary General explained that his colleagues in Iran are working under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions to scale up relief efforts for families displaced by the war.
“Each night they lie awake, listening to the explosions and fearing for their lives, and each morning they return to work, doing all they can to support families in dire need,” he said.
Health system under strain
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 21 attacks on health workers and facilities have been verified in Iran since the war began, resulting in nine deaths. Martinez noted that 17 Red Crescent centers have been hit and nearly 100 ambulances have been damaged or destroyed.
“These are not just vehicles. They are often the only hope people have when the bombs fall.” she said.
Health authorities report that the health system in Iran continues to function under the strain, while the health of the people on the move is a major concern. In addition to the immediate health impacts of the conflict such as trauma, injuries, disability, and mental health distress, WHO has assessed the threat of measles outbreaks as high.
With support from IRCS, national authorities continue to lead humanitarian response efforts, including search and rescue, emergency medical care, and temporary shelter.
The World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and non-governmental aid organizations are supporting food, health, water, education, and refugee assistance.
Call for accountability over school strike
According to Iran’s Health Ministry, at least 1,937 people, including at least 212 children, have been killed by US-Israeli attacks on Iran since the start of the war. This includes 168 girls who were killed when a strike hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab on February 28.
On Friday, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, addressed the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), delivering a statement on the strike that hit the girls’ school in Minab and calling for accountability and the protection of children.
“The images of bombed-out classrooms and grieving parents showed clearly who pays the highest price for war: civilians with no power in the decisions that led to conflict,” the UN human rights chief said.
“Whatever differences countries have, we can all agree they will not be solved by killing schoolchildren,” he told the HRC, at the beginning of an urgent debate on the protection of children and educational institutions in international armed conflicts.
“That is why we have the laws of war: to protect children and other civilians caught up in conflict, as well as schools and all civilian infrastructure.”
Senior US officials have claimed that the strike was under investigation. TĂĽrk called for the investigation to conclude as soon as possible and for the findings to be made public.
“In the case of this school, the onus is on those who carried out the attack to investigate it promptly, impartially, transparently and thoroughly, to determine the facts and lay the basis for accountability,” he stressed.
TĂĽrk added that resorting to the use of force while negotiations were ongoing is a strategic failure that has had a devastating impact on civilians.
“Bombs and missiles are not the path towards sustainable peace. They bring death, destruction and misery, in many cases only deepening grievances and fueling future violence,” he said.
The human rights chief emphasized that, as the conflict progressed, US and Israeli attacks have increasingly targeted densely populated residential areas and destroyed civilian infrastructure.
TĂĽrk again called on the United States and Israel to end their strikes on Iran and on Iran to cease targeting its neighbors and respect the human rights of its own people.
He implored all sides to exercise restraint and return to negotiations — the only path toward a lasting solution to their differences.