Ask Onix
Updated 24 March 2026 - Civilian casualties in Iran continue to climb as airstrikes by US and Israeli forces enter their fourth week, with human rights groups documenting over 1,400 deaths, including hundreds of children.
Stories of lives lost emerge through smoke and blackouts
Amid an internet blackout and thick smoke from relentless bombings, fragments of information are trickling out of Iran, revealing the human cost of the US-Israeli military campaign. Among the dead are pharmacists, bloggers, and toddlers-ordinary civilians whose names are only now beginning to surface.
Pharmacist killed while serving her community
Parastesh Dahaghin, a young pharmacist, died in an explosion at her workplace in Tehran's Apadana neighborhood. The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center reported that the strike targeted a nearby IT company allegedly involved in Iran's internet shutdown. Dahaghin's brother, Poorya, shared on Instagram that she had refused to leave Tehran despite warnings, insisting, "People need me... elderly people need their medication." A video of her mourning ceremony, surrounded by candles and flowers, circulated online.
A child's death in a western town
Three-year-old Eilmah Bilki succumbed to injuries sustained in an airstrike on the western town of Sardasht. The Kurdish human rights group Hengaw provided the BBC with her photo, stating she died a day after being wounded in early March. Few details about her life or family have emerged.
Blogger struck in her bed
Berivan Molani, a 26-year-old lifestyle blogger and online clothing shop owner, returned to Tehran from northern Iran just a day before she was killed. Her family had no knowledge that Iran's intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, lived across the street in the affluent Zafaraniyeh neighborhood. Footage from the Iranian Red Crescent shows rescuers digging through rubble to reach her trapped mother, who pleaded for news of her daughter. Berivan, pulled from the debris with fatal crush injuries, died in her bed during a March 17 missile strike targeting Khatib's residence. Her friend Razieh Janbaz, a former Iranian handball player, described finding only a pair of Berivan's trainers on the street after the attack.
Civilian toll mounts as strikes hit densely populated areas
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has recorded over 1,400 civilian deaths, with 15% being children. One of the deadliest incidents occurred at a primary school in the southern town of Minabat, where reports suggest a US strike aimed at a nearby military base hit the school. The US military has not confirmed responsibility but says it is investigating. Hengaw identified 48 children and 10 adults killed in the attack.
Iran does not disclose its military losses, but HRANA reports at least 1,167 military personnel have died since the conflict began. Meanwhile, arrests for internet use have surged as the Iranian government tightens control over information. Hengaw's Awyar Shekhi told the BBC that border guards have orders to shoot at people attempting to access Iraqi phone and internet networks near the border, exacerbating the population's fear.
"Earlier this year they were being killed on the streets by the Iranian government, and now they risk being killed by the bombings,"
Awyar Shekhi, Hengaw
Healthcare system under siege
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warns that civilians are bearing an "alarming" cost in the conflict. A Red Crescent worker, Hamidreza Jahanbakhsh, is among the dead, and several of the organization's facilities have been damaged. ICRC delegation head Vincent Cassard emphasized that international humanitarian law requires protection for civilians, medical workers, and humanitarian personnel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified over 20 attacks on healthcare facilities, with at least nine health workers killed. Ian Clarke, directing WHO's Middle East response, stated that any collateral damage to medical infrastructure constitutes an attack on health, regardless of intent. "The onus is on those pursuing the conflict to protect civilians and ensure health facilities are not impacted," he said.
The US has previously stated it does not target civilians and takes its obligations seriously. However, the BBC has verified footage of damaged hospitals, including Tehran's 17-story Gandhi Hospital near the state broadcaster's headquarters, a Red Crescent hospital in Mahabad, and a facility in the southern port of Bushehr, where babies in incubators were evacuated on March 3.
Doctors plead for protection
Dr. Hashim Moazenzadeh, an Iranian surgeon now in France, described the situation as dire. In communication with former colleagues in Tehran, he reported that public hospital doctors are "extremely exhausted" after weeks of treating civilian casualties from large-scale bombings. "If you're bombing near places like hospitals, you have to prioritize their safety and protection," he urged.
