A deadly escalation has gripped the Middle East, with scores of lives lost since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February.
The conflict rapidly drew in Gulf states hosting US military bases and personnel, alongside Lebanon, into the widening hostilities.
In response, Iran’s foreign ministry declared its intent to defend its homeland.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps initiated counterattacks, deploying drones and missiles towards Israel, while further strikes targeted US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar.
These recent hostilities follow weeks of sustained pressure from Donald Trump on Tehran to negotiate a deal regarding its nuclear programme. Prior to the strikes, Washington had significantly bolstered its naval presence with a fleet of warships positioned near Iran.
As of 3 March, the fourth day of the conflict, various involved countries have reported death tolls. However, these figures have not been independently verified by Reuters.
787 people killed, including 165 schoolgirls and staff killed in a missile strike on a primary school in Minab in the country’s south on the war’s first day, according to the non-profit humanitarian group Iranian Red Crescent Society. It was unclear if the death toll included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military casualties.
10 civilians killed, including nine people in an Iranian missile strike on Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem on March 1, according to Israel’s ambulance service Magen David Adom. The Israel Defense Forces has reported no military casualties.
40 people killed in Israeli missile strikes, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
One person killed after fire broke out in Bahrain’s Salman Industrial City following missile interception, according to the interior ministry.
One person killed, according to Kuwait’s health ministry. Separately, the Kuwaiti army said that two soldiers were killed “in military operations,” without providing details on the circumstances of their death.
One person killed after a projectile hit the Marshall Islands–flagged product tanker MKD VYOM off the coast of Muscat.
Three people killed, according to UAE’s defense ministry.
Six U.S. service members were killed in a strike on a facility in Kuwait, according to U.S. Central Command.
