Iran says 1,255 people killed in US-Israeli strikes, mostly civilians | US-Israel war over Iran news

Deputy Health Minister Ali Zafarian tells Al Jazeera that the airstrikes will damage dozens of health facilities.

Iranian Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian said that United States-Israeli strikes across his country had killed and wounded mostly civilians, and that bombings of oil facilities had sent toxic fumes across the capital, Tehran.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Monday, Jafarian said at least 1,255 people had died in Iran, including 200 children and 11 health workers. Their ages ranged from eight months to 88.

Insisting that most of the victims were civilians, Jafarian said: “They lived in their homes or (at their workplace).”

More than 12,000 people were injured, mostly from burns and crush injuries, he said. Twenty-nine clinical facilities have been damaged so far, and 10 of them have been forced to close, Jaffarian continued. Additionally, 52 health centers, 18 emergency service stations and 15 ambulances were damaged or destroyed.

Jaffarian warned of public health risks after Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s oil facilities late Saturday killed at least four people, the first since the war began.

“The whole city was dark until yesterday afternoon,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to the thick smog that filled the sky over Tehran.

Attacks on the Aghdasih oil warehouse in northeastern Tehran, the Tehran refinery in the south, and the Shahran oil depot in western Tehran sparked large fires.

Israel said it hit “several fuel storage facilities in Tehran” used to “maintain military infrastructure”.

The minister warned that this could cause respiratory problems for the most vulnerable, including children and the elderly, and advised the residents to close their windows and stay at home.

Acid rain pollutes the soil and has lasting environmental impact, he said.

“And this is not a military issue. … This is not a military goal,” he argued.

Jaffarian said more than 200 cities across Iran had been damaged since the attacks began on February 28 and insisted the targets were mostly civilians.

The US and Israel continued bombing Iran on Monday, with explosions reported in Qom and Tehran.

U.S. and Israeli officials said the war could last a month or more as analysts see no clear path to escalation in the near future.