By Middle East Correspondent
LONDON, (The Muslim News): At least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 injured by US-Israeli attacks on Iran since February 28, the Iranian Health Ministry reported on Tuesday. Victims ranged in age from eight months to 88 years old, including 200 women. Among the dead were 168 schoolgirls killed in the Minab elementary school. The attacks also claimed the lives of 11 healthcare workers, including four physicians, two nurses, and three emergency responders, while 55 others were wounded.
The ministry said 18,254 of the injured have been treated and discharged, with 1,070 still hospitalised. So far, 735 surgical operations have been performed on those wounded. Fatalities under the age of 18 total 204, including 13 children under five. Among the injured, 1,275 are under 18, including 45 children younger than two years old. Women accounted for 226 of the dead and 3,002 of the wounded.
The escalation of hostilities in the region began after US and Israeli forces launched joint attacks on Iran on February 28, which also killed then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Despite the violence, life continues on Kharg Island, a key oil hub, according to a spokesperson for Iran’s parliamentary Energy Committee. “Residents’ lives on Kharg Island are proceeding as usual. Oil industry workers are continuing their activities with high morale, and through round-the-clock efforts, no disruption has occurred in oil exports,” the official said. “Iran’s oil exports are continuing without interruption, and the ships of our enemies are not allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”
The spokesperson warned that any aggression against Kharg Island would be met with “a humiliation more severe than what occurred in the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that the island “will become a graveyard for aggressors.”
Calls for international involvement in reopening the Strait of Hormuz have largely been rejected. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Monday that Ireland would not participate in any mission following a US request for naval deployment. “We don’t have that offensive military capacity in any shape or form, so obviously it’s not something that’s on our agenda,” he said. Other European nations have similarly declined. Former US President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that “numerous countries” were preparing to assist the US in reopening the Strait but did not name them, citing security concerns.
Saudi Arabia reported intercepting and shooting down 26 drones in its Eastern Region on Tuesday, highlighting the widening regional tensions.
In Iraq, a fresh wave of drone and rocket attacks struck the US Embassy compound in Baghdad early Tuesday, triggering sirens and intercepts, according to Shafaq News Agency. Earlier, a drone impacted the upper fence of the Al-Rasheed Hotel in the Green Zone, without causing injuries. Armed factions in Iraq reportedly carried out 21 attacks on US bases across the country in the past 24 hours, according to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
The escalation has extended into Lebanon, where Israeli strikes in southern regions and Beirut suburbs injured 11 people, the National News Agency reported. Seven were wounded in Shaqra, Bint Jbeil district, and four in Srifa. An Ethiopian woman was injured in an airstrike on an apartment in Aramoun, Mount Lebanon. Israeli forces also targeted Taybeh, Majdal, Zibqin, Yater, Kfar Qaana, Ain Baal, and Deir Kifa. The Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll since the start of attacks had risen to 886, including 111 children and 67 women, with 2,141 injured.
Hezbollah said it carried out 12 operations targeting Israeli vehicles and soldiers in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. “These attacks were conducted in defence of Lebanon and its people,” the group said in statements monitored by Anadolu Agency. Rocket and artillery strikes targeted multiple sites including Al-Ajal Hill, Honin gate, Jdeidet Marjayoun, Jabal al-Bat, and Beit al-Jundi. In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah claimed to have shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over Bint Jbeil.
Violence has also escalated in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in Sinjil, claiming the victims were “terrorists” who threw stones at vehicles. Ella Waweya, Israeli army spokesperson, said the snipers “opened fire on the terrorists, neutralizing two of them.”
Attacks by illegal Jewish settlers on Palestinian communities have surged since the Gaza war that began in October 2023. In Khirbet Humsa, northern Jordan Valley, settlers reportedly sexually assaulted a Palestinian man, beat men, women, and children, and vandalised homes and livestock, according to eyewitness accounts cited by Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Four Palestinian men and two foreign human rights activists were evacuated for treatment.
Official Palestinian figures report that the ongoing West Bank violence has killed at least 1,127 Palestinians, injured 11,700, and led to 22,000 arrests.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned Israel for closing Al-Aqsa Mosque, urging its immediate reopening. “The faithful are denied their right to worship at Islam’s third holiest site, through the final days of Ramadan and now into Eid. Israel’s actions have no legitimate basis in law, in morality or in any sincere conception of human dignity,” he said on X.
On the global stage, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned of a “mounting wave of Islamophobia,” highlighting rising harassment, discrimination, and violence against Muslims worldwide, worsened by the ongoing Middle East conflicts. “On this International Day to Combat Islamophobia, we honour Muslims around the world, whose contributions make communities stronger and societies richer. And we sound the alarm about a mounting wave of Islamophobia,” Turk said.
Pakistan echoed the concern, with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stating that Islamophobia “exacerbates existing tensions and conflicts, creating a vicious cycle that threatens international peace and security.” He urged the international community to address structural conditions that allow anti-Muslim prejudice to flourish and to promote tolerance, dignity, and peaceful coexistence.
[Photo: A view of major destruction at Javadiyeh and Beryanak districts as a result of US-Israeli attacks in Tehran, Iran on March 15, 2026. The ongoing US-Israeli strikes on Iran have targeted these southern neighborhoods in recent days, leading to extensive structural damage to buildings and infrastructure. 7 buildings in the neighborhood were completely destroyed, while 25 others sustained serious damage. Photojournalist: Fatemeh Bahrami/AA]
