As the conflict in the Middle East reaches its second month, the regional warfare has resulted in the deaths of thousands. The hostilities ignited when U.S. and Israeli forces targeted Iran, drawing in neighboring nations and creating a new battleground in Lebanon.
Beginning on February 28, airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel hit Iran, leading to the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This prompted Iran to retaliate with strikes on both Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. military personnel.
The ongoing conflict shows no signs of abating, with Tehran refuting U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that Iran’s president is seeking a ceasefire.
As the U.S. and Israel continue their military actions against Iran, the situation in Lebanon has likewise deteriorated, resulting in numerous reported fatalities from the ongoing violence.
Below are the reported casualties from the conflict, primarily sourced from local officials and an activist organization. CBC News is unable to independently verify these figures.
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Over 3,000 fatalities reported in Iran
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a non-governmental organization of human rights advocates, reports that at least 3,519 individuals have died since the outbreak of the war. This figure includes at least 1,598 civilians, 1,212 military members, and 709 deaths categorized as either civilian or military remain unclassified.
Among the civilian fatalities, HRANA indicates that at least 244 were children.
It remains unclear whether these numbers account for 104 individuals reported by the Iranian military as casualties of a U.S. strike on an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka on March 4.
HRANA has demonstrated accuracy in tracking fatalities during prior instances of unrest in Iran, including earlier mass protest deaths this year, and it relies on a network of activists within the country to confirm these deaths. The agency is gradually cross-referencing information as it becomes available, while communication with individuals inside Iran remains challenging.
Furthermore, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported that as of March 27, at least 1,900 individuals had perished due to the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Since the onset of the assaults, more than 25,000 civilians have sustained injuries, according to HRANA data.
Thousands gathered in Minab, Iran, for mass funerals of those who died when a girls’ elementary school was struck by airstrikes. Reports indicate that 168 children and staff lost their lives, prompting the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights to call for an ‘impartial and thorough’ investigation into the incident.
Lebanon’s casualties exceed 1,200
Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah commenced on March 2, shortly after hostilities erupted in Iran. The Iran-aligned militant group retaliated by launching rockets, missiles, and drones into northern Israel.
In retaliation, Israel conducted airstrikes and expanded military operations into southern Lebanon, resulting in a significant escalation of violence that has claimed at least 1,268 lives and injured over 2,000, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry as of March 31. The breakdown of civilian versus militant fatalities remains unclear.
Additionally, the conflict has displaced over 1.2 million Lebanese citizens, as Israel intends to retain control of a large area in southern Lebanon extending to the Litani River once the war concludes.
Israel’s defense minister has pledged to cause destruction akin to that in Gaza, asserting that all homes in Lebanese villages near the border will be razed, and that the 600,000 individuals who fled the south will not be permitted to return until northern Israel is deemed secure.
In Israel, missile strikes from both Iran and Lebanon have resulted in 19 fatalities, as reported by the Israeli ambulance service. The military has also confirmed the deaths of 10 of its soldiers in southern Lebanon.
Separately, an Israeli farmer was unintentionally killed by friendly fire near the Lebanon border on March 22.
Fatalities throughout the region
In Iraq, at least 105 people have lost their lives since the onset of the crisis, as per Iraqi health officials. This figure includes civilians, members of the Iran-aligned Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Forces, U.S.-allied Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and law enforcement and military personnel. Additionally, one foreign crew member died in an attack on tankers near an Iraqi port, according to port security officials.
A French soldier was killed, and six others were injured following a drone strike in northern Iraq, where they were engaged in counter-terrorism training.
The U.S. military has reported the deaths of thirteen service members during the ongoing conflict. Six were confirmed dead due to the crash of a U.S. military refueling aircraft in Iraq, while six others died in an Iranian strike on a Kuwaiti military facility, and one was killed in Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, twelve U.S. troops were reported wounded, two of them seriously, following an Iranian military strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, as noted by a U.S. official to Reuters on March 27.
U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that the conflict in the Middle East is approaching resolution. Nonetheless, Iran continues its attacks on various targets across the region, while Israel maintains its offensive against Iran.
In Saudi Arabia, two individuals lost their lives when a projectile struck a residential area in Al-Kharj city, located southeast of Riyadh, according to local officials.
In another location, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry reported two fatalities from separate Iranian strikes, with the most recent one hitting a residential structure in the capital, Manama.
Kuwait’s authorities have documented seven fatalities, including three individuals killed in Iranian attacks, along with two officers from the interior ministry and two soldiers.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, four Palestinian women were killed by an Iranian missile strike.
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) reported ten fatalities due to Iranian attacks since February 28, which includes two soldiers from the army.
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Additionally, seven people were killed in a helicopter crash on March 22 in Qatar’s waters due to a technical malfunction during “routine duty,” as confirmed by Qatar’s defense ministry.
Oman, which has been facilitating mediation talks between the U.S. and Iran, reported two casualties from a drone strike on an industrial area in Sohar province on March 13. One individual also died when a projectile struck a tanker off the coast of Muscat, according to the vessel’s manager.
In Syria, four individuals were killed when an Iranian missile hit a building in the southern city of Sweida on February 28, as reported by the state news agency SANA.