A human rights monitoring group says more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in the first several days of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes across Iran, as the rapidly escalating conflict continues to spread across the region.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that at least 1,097 civilians have died and more than 5,000 people have been injured since the bombing campaign began early Saturday morning. According to the organization, the casualties include 181 children younger than 10 years old.
HRANA said another 880 reported deaths are still being reviewed and have not yet been fully verified.
The strikes began with a massive wave of air attacks targeting locations across Iran. Iranian officials confirmed that the operation killed several senior leaders, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with high-ranking military and political figures.
Independent verification of the civilian casualty figures has been difficult. International media outlets, including TIME, have not been able to independently confirm the full toll reported by HRANA.
The Pentagon signaled Wednesday that the campaign is far from over. During remarks to reporters, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said American forces would intensify the bombardment.
“Our warfighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly,” Hegseth said. “Our rules of engagement are bold, precise, and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it. This was never meant to be a fair fight. And it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they are down, which is exactly how it should be.”
Israel’s military also announced additional operations. In a statement on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had launched “broad-scale strikes targeting Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran.”
Videos circulating online showed multiple explosions across the Iranian capital. Iran’s state television reported that a mourning ceremony for Khamenei had been postponed due to the ongoing attacks.
HRANA also said recent airstrikes hit a range of locations between March 2 and March 3, including military bases, residential neighborhoods, and medical facilities. The group reported damage to Shohada Hospital in Sarpol-e Zahab and a field hospital in Salas-e Babajani.
Officials from U.S. Central Command referred questions about civilian casualties to earlier remarks from Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of CENTCOM.
“We’ve just begun,” Cooper said in a video posted on social media. He added that U.S. forces had struck nearly 2,000 targets within the first 100 hours of the operation.
Meanwhile, the violence is spreading beyond Iran. Lebanese health officials said Israeli strikes there have killed at least 72 people and forced more than 83,000 residents to flee their homes.
Iran has also launched retaliatory attacks across the region. Missile strikes targeting U.S. bases and diplomatic sites in the Middle East, along with civilian areas in Israel and Gulf countries, have killed at least 11 people in Israel and three in the United Arab Emirates. Six U.S. service members have also been reported killed since the conflict began.
