The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that military strikes are continuing to severely damage civilian infrastructure across Iran. According to the Iranian Ministry of Health, 309 healthcare facilities and 42 ambulances have been damaged, and seven hospitals have been evacuated since February 28, when the war began. Meanwhile, relief workers continue to be killed.
Over a month has passed since Israel and the United States initiated a war on Iran, sparking a wider regional conflict. Since February 28, devastating strikes across Iran have killed hundreds, injured thousands and disrupted essential services for up to 60 million people.
Civilians and civilian infrastructure in Iran continue to bear the brunt of attacks by the United States and Israel. Air strikes have reportedly caused power outages and disruptions, and one desalination plant has reportedly been impacted on Qeshm Island in Hormozgan Province.
Attacks targeting civilian objects or infrastructure essential to the civilian population constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and are considered war crimes. The laws of war are clear: objects that serve civilians are not legitimate military targets.
As of Wednesday, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) reports that more than 115,000 civilian buildings, including health centers, schools, homes and commercial premises, have been impacted, while the Iranian Ministry of Education says that more than 700 educational facilities have been damaged.
According to Iranian authorities, close to 2,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 25,000 injured, including over 1,700 children and at least 4,000 women, following airstrikes by Israel and the United States in Iran since the end of February. Over 3.2 million people have been displaced internally, with many fleeing cities lacking functional warning systems or bomb shelters.
Over one month into the war, the conflict continues to take a devastating toll on children. Among those killed in Iran are at least 216 children. Relentless attacks are destroying and damaging the facilities and infrastructure that children depend on, including hospitals, schools and water and sanitation systems.
The war is having a particularly severe impact on vulnerable groups, including at least 5 million Afghans living in the country. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has provided counselling, legal aid, cash assistance and psychosocial support to over 42,000 Afghan refugees, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) continues to deliver protection and direct cash assistance to stranded migrants.
UN agencies, the Red Crescent and national authorities continue to respond. As of Wednesday, active teams from the IRCS had responded in over 1,200 affected areas. The IRCS has mobilized thousands of responders to deliver search and rescue, medical aid and emergency relief across the country, but the scale of the need far exceeds the capacity of the organization to respond without substantial international support.
On Wednesday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported the death of another Iranian Red Crescent relief worker. He was killed in an airstrike in the northwestern province of Zanjan on Tuesday morning, becoming the third IRCS aid worker to be killed in an airstrike while helping others in the last month. According to the IFRC, the relief worker was providing humanitarian assistance at the Hussainiya clinic when the nearby religious site, the Azam Hussainiya of Zanjan, was hit during the attack.