The United Nations has urged all parties in the Israel-Iran conflict to protect civilians, expressing alarm over mounting displacement and rising humanitarian needs triggered by Israeli and U.S. air raids on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes.
UN human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani described the devastation following a reported strike on Saturday that allegedly killed and injured dozens of girls at a primary school in Minab, southern Iran. She said the attack occurred as pupils were arriving for classes.
Recalling scenes from the aftermath, she pointed to blood-stained schoolbags left behind. “This is absolutely horrific”.
“If there is any image that captures the essence of the destruction, despair and senselessness and cruelty of this conflict, those are the images.”
Shamdasani noted that beyond Iran and Israel, at least 12 other countries have felt the ripple effects of the hostilities, with homes, businesses, airports and energy facilities damaged.
She added that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk had been “deeply shocked” by the toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure. Türk called for a “prompt, impartial and thorough investigation” into the Minab incident.
“The onus is on the forces that carried out the attack to investigate it. We call on them to make public the findings and to ensure accountability and redress for the victims,” she insisted.
She stressed that attacks targeting civilians or civilian sites, as well as indiscriminate strikes, constitute “serious violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.”
The rights office also voiced concern over the situation inside Iran, citing fears of intensified crackdowns. Shamdasani said authorities must protect fundamental freedoms, especially amid reports of threats against dissenters and a nationwide internet shutdown limiting access to information.
The fighting began Saturday with Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, prompting counterattacks by Tehran against Israel and other U.S. allies in the region.
Meanwhile, Babar Baloch, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, warned of escalating displacement in Lebanon after Hezbollah entered the conflict, triggering Israeli airstrikes.
According to the UN refugee agency, heavy displacement has occurred in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs. Israel reportedly issued evacuation notices to residents in over 50 Lebanese villages and carried out widespread air raids.
By Monday, nearly 30,000 people had been registered in collective shelters, Baloch said, with many others sleeping in vehicles or stranded in traffic while fleeing southern areas toward Beirut.
Media reports on Tuesday indicated Israeli troops had moved into southern Lebanon following Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel.
The expanding conflict has also disrupted key trade routes, affecting humanitarian deliveries. The UN World Food Programme’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Samer Jaber, cited disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
He said these “will complicate maritime routes and delays and driving costs for most of our operations that depend on those routes”.
“With seas contested and airspace closing, we’re looking at adapting and using our supplier networks in other countries like Türkiye, like Egypt, like Jordan and Pakistan to support overland corridors,” he said.
