News Center_ On the seventh day of the Israeli American war on Iran, the Middle East has turned into an open battlefield that has exceeded geographical borders, as hundreds of people have been killed in Iran since the escalation began on February 28.

Yesterday, Thursday, March 5, UNICEF issued a statement expressing deep concern over the ongoing military escalation in Iran and its severe impact on children, noying that approximately 180 children have been killed and many others injured. The statement said “Among the victims, 168 girls were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Shajira Taybeh Elementary School for Girls in Minab, southern Iran, on February 28,” pointing out that “most of the victims were students aged between 7 and 12 years, in addition to 12 children killed in other schools at different locations in Iran.”

The statement clarified that “these losses of children’s lives are a stark reminder of the brutality of war and the violence inflicted upon them, which affects families and communities for generations,” adding that schools must be safe under international humanitarian law.”

With the continuation of military strikes across the region, the statement noted that children are increasingly exposed to violence, and the attacks are affecting essential civilian infrastructure, posing a direct threat to the safety of civilians. It highlighted that at least 20 schools and 10 hospitals in Iran have been damaged, which hinders children’s access to education and essential health services.

UNICEF concluded its statement by urgently calling on “all parties to fulfill their obligations under international law and ensure the protection of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law.”

Rising number of casualties
According to available data up to Friday, March 6, the seventh day of the war, Iran has recorded the highest number of fatalities, as the Iranian Red Crescent humanitarian organization reported last Wednesday that 1,045 civilians and military personnel had been killed.

In Israel, medical sources reported the deaths of 10 civilians, including nine in an Iranian missile strike targeting the city of Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem on March 1. In Lebanon, the death toll rose to 123 with 683 injured, according to the Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Lebanese Ministry of Health yesterday evening.

In Syria, media sources reported that four people were killed due to an Iranian missile strike on a building in the city of As-Suwayda, southern Syria.