3.2 Million Displaced as US-Israeli Strikes Devastate Iran

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reports that 20,000 buildings, including 16,000 homes, have been damaged or destroyed since the offensive began on February 28. The World Health Organization confirms approximately 1,300 deaths and 9,000 injuries, a toll that includes 200 children. Among the most harrowing incidents is the strike on a Minab elementary school, where at least 175 people, primarily young girls, were killed—an event Refugees International president Jeremy Konyndyk compared to the 1968 My Lai massacre.

Konyndyk argues that the systematic nature of these strikes, combined with the Pentagon’s removal of civilian harm safeguards under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, points toward potential war crimes. While the US and Israel maintain their military objectives, the administration has signaled it will not accept a new wave of Middle Eastern refugees. This policy shift leaves millions in a region already grappling with 25 million displaced people, further strained by severe cuts to international humanitarian funding.