New Delhi, Mar 8: The Middle East war completed a week today, with its intensity increasing and the sphere expanding.
The war began with the launch of airstrikes jointly by the US and Israeli on Iran on the morning of February 28 and the initial assault resulted in the assassination of the Persian nation’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a person reverred by many Muslims and hated by the West.
An outraged Iran retaliated by launching missile and drone attacks at Israel and also the US military bases and other interests in the Gulf countries, since the American mainland was out of reach for such actions.
Since then, it has been mayhem in Iran, Gulf countries and Israel and seems to be no end to the madness in the near future.
Military assets are not the only things that have been damaged or destroyed by the countries involved in fighting. But damage and destruction has been caused even to the civilian places, including schools, hospitals, commercial buildings, airports, water facilities and petroleum installations.
Iran today reported that the eight days of war have brought devastation to civilians in the country but maintains silence on the casualties among the government officials and armed forces.
In a statement, the Iranian Health Minisry said more than 1,200 people have been killed and more than 10,000 have been injured since February 28.
The dead included 200 children under the age of 12 years, most of them school girls killed during an aerial attack at an elementary school in Iran.
Around 200 women are also among those killed and 1,400 women are among the injured, it said.
Healthcare infrastructure of Iran hit:
The attacks by the US and Israel have also resulted in destruction of 18 pre-hospital emergency bases, damage to 25 hospitals, out of which 9 have been rendered out of service, the Health Ministry said.
Other impact on the health services sector of Iran include destruction of 14 ambulances and damage to 2 county health centers, 17 comprehensive health service centers and 2 rural health houses, it said.
Oil Installations hit:
Attacks have also been carried out by the US and Israel on oil refineries in Tehran and other places.
Iran has also struck oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
As a result, petroleum production and flow has been hit severely, which is likely to cause cascading energy crisis globally since the Middle East caters to a huge proportion of fuel requirements worldwide.
Airports hit:
The war has engulfed even the airports, which have been targeted in UAE, Iran and Israel, endangering lives of travellers.
Financial losses:
The relentless war has led to financial losses estimated to be in billions of dollars to the countries involved in the fighting.
Historic Sites hit:
The attacks by the US and Israel have also resulted in damage to historic sites in Tehran. (NVI)
