War in the Middle East: Iran nuclear facility hit as equivalent of ‘one classroom of children’ killed, wounded daily in Lebanon

This article is published in association with United Nations.

More than 1,000 people have been killed and 2,584 injured in Lebanon since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, UN officials said Saturday.

Key points

• 1,000+ people killed and 2,584 injured in Lebanon since 2 March
• Iran nuclear facility hit
• UN agencies warn 45 million could face extreme hunger if war against Iran continues

“Recent escalation has killed or wounded the equivalent of one classroom of children every day,” said Ted Chaiban, deputy chief of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 

Deaths from Israeli strikes in Lebanon include 31 healthcare workers, according to the latest flash update issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Meanwhile, ongoing displacement orders are driving repeated population movements, with over 1.2 million people displaced, including 134,439 internally displaced in 636 collective shelters mainly in Beirut and Mount Lebanon amid growing shelter shortages and protection risks.

Attacks on healthcare

Attacks on healthcare and humanitarian personnel continue to rise, according to the latest report. Dozens have been injured amid repeated strikes on hospitals, ambulances, and medical transport.

Five hospitals and 49 health centres are now out of operation, severely limiting access to lifesaving care as mass casualty incidents occur across multiple governorates.

Humanitarian personnel have also been affected, with a recent strike in Baalbek that killed a local humanitarian worker and two children. These attacks raise grave concerns over the respect of international humanitarian law, which explicitly protects medical personnel, facilities, and humanitarian personnel, OCHA said.

Escalating hostilities on the ground

Hostilities are also escalating on the ground, OCHA said, pointing to increased military activity south of the Litani River, with exchanges of fire along the Blue Line, that signal rising protection threats for communities in high‑risk areas.

Strikes in Zkak el Blat and Basta resulted in further casualties, including the killing of a journalist and his spouse, which marks the first reported killing of a reporter in Lebanon since the 2 March escalation.

OCHA said the deaths raise serious concerns regarding the protection of civilians and media personnel.

© WFP/Arete/Ali Yunes

Some residents of Beirut who have been displaced by the conflict are now living on the streets of the Lebanese capital.

Displacement grows

Displacement dynamics remain highly fluid and complex, OCHA reported. 

Repeated and expanded displacement orders now cover significant portions of southern Lebanon, parts of Beirut, border villages and the Bekaa and are triggering multiple, secondary and tertiary displacement.

Displacement orders in areas such as Beirut’s southern suburbs, localised orders for buildings or neighbourhoods alongside broader displacement orders affecting villages continue to force people to flee.

Over-burdened shelters

Collective shelters are overstretched, with many reporting overcrowding, limited electricity, lack of heating and inadequate privacy, according to the latest flash update.

Schools continue to be heavily affected, with a total of 472 educational buildings being used as collective shelters, restricting access to education for thousands of students.

Some children have returned to the same schools where they previously sheltered during the 2024 escalation, compounding the long-term disruption caused by Lebanon’s economic collapse, the Beirut Port explosion and the COVID19 pandemic.

Airstrikes destroy infrastructure

Damage to critical infrastructure continues to impede humanitarian access. 

Israeli airstrikes have destroyed or damaged roads, crossings and bridges, water pipelines and at least five fuel stations in southern Lebanon. These disruptions further constrain the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, the UN relief agency warned.

Humanitarian actors reiterated the respect to the international humanitarian law. Civilians, including journalists, must be protected at all times. Medical personnel, health facilities, ambulances, patients and civilians are explicitly protected under international law and must not be targeted.

The protection of civilians and unimpeded humanitarian access remain imperative to prevent further loss of life and alleviate human suffering, OCHA stated.

Iran: Nuclear facility attacked

The head of the UN-backed nuclear agency reported early Saturday that Iran’s Natanz facility for nuclear enrichment has been bombed amid continuing strikes across the country by Israel and the United States and counterstrikes by Tehran around the Gulf.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reiterated his call “for military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident”.

The UN-backed agency is tasked with ensuring cooperation in the nuclear field and promoting the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technology.

 “The IAEA has been informed by Iran that the Natanz nuclear site was attacked today,” the agency posted, adding that “no increase in off-site radiation levels have been reported.”

The bombing was the fourth targeted attack on nuclear facilities in Iran since the start of the US-Israeli offensive.

UN agencies warn of growing hunger, displacement

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UN agencies are warning that the ongoing war has led to millions of people displaced.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said 45 million people could face extreme levels of hunger if the war continues and the price of fuel continues to climb.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said the widespread consequences of the war have already seen massive displacement, as people flee the spreading violence across the region.

“Amid escalating hostilities in Iran, thousands of Afghans are returning to Afghanistan,” UNHCR said on Saturday.

“For many families, this is another cycle of displacement, but the country they return to is already facing multiple crises,” the agency stated, emphasising that “they urgently need support.”

Indeed, the ripple effects of the war are already being felt within and far outside the region, UN agencies said.

Read our story on how the war is affecting nations in Asia here.