Stock Markets April 5, 2026

Death Toll Rises Across Middle East as Iran War Expands

Reported fatalities span Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Gulf states and Western forces; figures have not been independently verified

By Nina Shah
Death Toll Rises Across Middle East as Iran War Expands

Thousands have reportedly died across the Middle East since the conflict began on February 28, after strikes on Iran. Reported casualties include civilians, fighters, service members and peacekeepers across multiple countries. The following aggregates are based on reported counts; they have not been independently verified.

Key Points

  • Reported fatalities span multiple countries, with thousands killed since the conflict began on February 28.
  • Reported casualties include civilians, fighters, national forces, international military personnel and peacekeepers; counts vary by reporting source.
  • Attacks and incidents have affected energy and maritime assets in the Gulf region, and multiple countries report military and civilian losses.

The conflict that began on February 28, when strikes hit Iran, has produced a rising death toll across the Middle East and beyond. Those initial strikes prompted Iranian counterattacks on Israel, U.S. military facilities and Gulf states and have opened a new front in Lebanon. The following are the latest reported fatalities by country and category. These figures have not been independently verified.


Iran

A U.S.-based rights organization, HRANA, has reported that 3,540 people have been killed since the conflict erupted. Of that total, HRANA says 1,616 were civilians, including at least 244 children. The group says its figures are compiled from field reports, local contacts, medical and emergency sources, civil society networks, open-source materials and official statements.

Separately, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has reported that at least 1,900 people have been killed and 20,000 injured in Iran in the U.S.-Israeli strikes to date. It is not clear whether those totals include the at least 104 people that the Iranian military said were killed in a U.S. attack on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on March 4.


Lebanon

Lebanese authorities report 1,461 people killed in Israeli strikes since March 2, including at least 124 children. In addition, more than 400 fighters from Hezbollah have been killed since the group launched attacks that opened a new war with Israel on March 2, two sources familiar with the group's count said. It is unclear whether the Lebanese authorities' death toll includes those fighters.

The Lebanese army has reported that at least 10 Lebanese soldiers have died since March 2, most of the casualties occurring in southern Lebanon. United Nations peacekeeping forces operating in the area have also sustained losses; three peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon - one from a roadside explosion and another involving a projectile.


Iraq

Iraqi health authorities say at least 108 people have been killed since the crisis began. That figure encompasses civilians as well as members of the Iran-affiliated Shi’ite Popular Mobilisation Forces, U.S.-allied Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and Iraqi police and army personnel. Port security officials reported that one foreign crew member was killed in an attack on tankers near an Iraqi port.


Israel

Israel’s ambulance service has reported that missiles fired from Iran and Lebanon have killed 19 people inside Israel. The Israeli military said that 10 of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon. Separately, an incident of friendly fire occurred on March 22, when Israeli forces misfired and an Israeli farmer was killed near the border with Lebanon.


United States

Thirteen U.S. service members have been reported killed. The U.S. military confirmed that six service members died after a U.S. military refuelling aircraft crashed over Iraq. Seven additional service members have been reported killed in action during operations against Iran. A U.S. official also said that 12 U.S. troops were wounded, two seriously, in an Iranian military strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.


United Arab Emirates

UAE authorities report that 12 people have been killed in Iranian attacks, including two army soldiers. The most recent fatality occurred when debris from an intercepted attack fell on Abu Dhabi’s Habshan gas facilities.


Qatar

On March 22, seven people were killed in a helicopter crash in Qatar’s territorial waters after a technical malfunction during what was described as routine duty, according to Qatar’s defence ministry. Four of the dead were Qatari armed forces personnel, one was a Turkish serviceman attached to the Qatar-Turkey joint forces, and two were technicians employed by the Turkish defence manufacturer Aselsan.


Kuwait

Kuwaiti authorities have reported seven deaths in connection with the crisis. That total includes three people killed in Iranian attacks, two interior ministry officers and two army soldiers.


West Bank

Four Palestinian women were killed in an Iranian missile attack in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.


Syria

State media in Syria reported that four people were killed when an Iranian missile struck a building in the southern city of Sweida on February 28.


Bahrain

Bahraini authorities say two people were killed in two separate Iranian attacks, the most recent of which struck a residential building in the capital Manama. The UAE’s defence ministry reported on March 24 that one of its civilian contractors was killed in an Iranian attack on Bahrain and identified the contractor as a Moroccan national.


Oman

On March 13, two people were reported killed in a drone strike on an industrial zone in Sohar province; these were described as the first fatalities inside Oman connected to the crisis. Separately, the manager of a vessel said that one person died earlier after a projectile struck a tanker off the coast of Muscat.


Saudi Arabia

Two people were killed when a projectile fell on a residential location in Al-Kharj city, southeast of Riyadh.


France

One French soldier was killed and six others wounded following a drone attack in northern Iraq, where French forces had been conducting counter-terrorism training.


The figures above cover a range of victims, including civilians, combatants, national forces and international personnel. Differences in sources and reporting methods mean totals may overlap or omit certain categories, and in some cases it is not explicit whether reported tallies include combatant deaths reported separately by other parties.

Risks

  • Continued hostilities may further disrupt energy infrastructure and shipping in the Gulf region - sectors such as oil and gas and maritime logistics may face heightened operational risk.
  • Escalation near populated areas and cross-border strikes carry a risk of increased civilian casualties and damage to local economies - sectors like tourism, local services and infrastructure could be affected.
  • Military losses among international and national forces increase uncertainty for defense commitments and regional security arrangements - defense contractors and governments may face operational and budgetary strains.

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