THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says more than 1,100 children have been killed or injured since the start of the United States (US)–Israeli airstrikes on Iran nearly two weeks ago.
“Ten days into the intensifying conflict in the Middle East, the situation is becoming catastrophic for millions of children across the region. Since 28 February, more than 1,100 children have been reported injured or killed in the violence. This includes 200 children reportedly killed in Iran, 91 in Lebanon, four in Israel and one in Kuwait. These numbers will likely climb as the violence intensifies and spreads,” UNICEF said in a statement.
The organisation noted that a deepening humanitarian crisis is unfolding across the Middle East, where widespread destruction and relentless bombardments have forced millions of children out of school and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes.
“Widespread disruption to education has left millions of children out of school across the region, while hundreds of thousands of children have been displaced by unrelenting bombardment. Civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and water and sanitation systems – upon which children depend to survive – have been attacked, damaged, or destroyed by parties to the conflict. Nothing justifies the killing and maiming of children, or the destruction and disruption of essential services that children depend on.
UNICEF said grave violations against children in armed conflict could constitute violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The global health body reiterated the Secretary-General’s call on parties to the conflict to end the fighting and engage in diplomatic negotiations.
UNICEF also called on parties to take all necessary precautions in the choice of means and methods of warfare to minimise harm to civilians, including by avoiding the use of explosive weapons that disproportionally affect children.
“The region’s children – all 200 million of them – are counting on the world to act quickly,” it added.
The ICIR reports that the latest figures indicate a sharp rise in child casualties, far exceeding the 180 deaths reported earlier by UNICEF on March 5.
The US President Donald Trump struck a defiant tone at a campaign-style rally in Kentucky ahead of November’s midterm elections, claiming the US had effectively won the war but stressing the need to see it through.
However, Iran signaled it was preparing to inflict a prolonged economic blow. A spokesperson for the country’s military command warned Washington that global oil prices would reflect the instability unfolding in the region.
According to Reuters, the conflict has now spilled across the Middle East, prompting emergency plans for a massive release of strategic oil reserves aimed at cushioning what could become the most severe fuel shock since the 1970s.
Two fuel tankers were burned in Iraqi waters on Thursday following what appeared to be Iranian strikes, marking the latest escalation in a widening wave of attacks on oil and transport infrastructure across the Middle East. Tehran warned that crude prices could surge to $200 a barrel, a move that would rattle global energy markets and plunge transport systems into turmoil.
The warning came as the International Energy Agency (IEA) urged countries to release massive volumes from their strategic oil reserves to stabilise markets rattled by the rapidly escalating conflict.
Oil prices surged more than four per cent on Wednesday, after briefly climbing to nearly $120 a barrel earlier in the week. It settled around $90 on Wednesday after Trump’s assurance that the war would soon end, reflecting mounting fears of supply disruptions.
Stock markets, including Wall Street’s major indexes, fell as investors reassessed earlier hopes that Washington might push for a quick end to the conflict.
To contain the crisis, the International Energy Agency recommended releasing 400 million barrels from global strategic reserves, the largest coordinated intervention in history. Washington quickly backed the proposal.
But analysts note that even such a massive release would replace only a fraction of the oil normally transported through the Strait of Hormuz.
An Iranian military spokesperson said Wednesday the strait was ‘undoubtedly’ under Iran’s control. In response, the Group of Seven nations namely the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany and France agreed to examine the possibility of escorting ships to ensure safe passage through the Gulf.
Trump said US forces had destroyed 58 Iranian naval vessels and suggested Tehran’s military capability was fading. “Iran is pretty much at the end of the line,” he said, adding that US officials would now “look very strongly” at the Strait of Hormuz.
“The straits are in great shape,” he said. “We’ve knocked out all of their boats. They have some missiles, but not very many.”
Despite the claim, security sources say Iran had laid about a dozen naval mines in the channel, complicating any attempt to reopen it.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwaiti authorities reported that a drone struck a building in the country’s south, injuring two people. In Dubai, officials responded after a drone crashed near Dubai Creek Harbour. A container vessel also reported being hit by an unidentified projectile near the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
US and Israeli officials said their objective was to dismantle Iran’s ability to project military power beyond its borders and to eliminate its nuclear programme.
Yet Washington has sent mixed signals over whether regime change is part of the broader strategy. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the opening strikes of the conflict and replaced by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who Iran officials said suffered only minor injuries.
Despite the upheaval, US intelligence assessments suggest Iran’s leadership structure remained largely intact and was not in immediate danger of collapse, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Security concerns are also mounting beyond the Middle East. ABC News reported that the FBI warned of the possibility that Iranian drones could target the US West Coast, though Trump dismissed the threat.
The US State Department has also cautioned that Iran or allied militias might attempt to strike American-owned energy infrastructure in Iraq. Officials noted that militias had targeted hotels frequented by US citizens.
Meanwhile, the US military urged civilians to stay away from Iranian ports hosting naval facilities prompting a sharp warning from Tehran that any threat to those ports would make regional economic and trade centres “legitimate targets.”
