As President Donald Trump described the US military campaign against Iran as a special personal mission on Friday, calling its leaders “deranged scumbags” and declaring their deaths a great honor, the human cost of the broader conflict was on stark display in Lebanon. More than 800,000 people have been displaced from their homes across the country since the latest round of fighting began, and over 600 have been killed. Eight more died in an Israeli strike on the coastal city of Sidon on Friday, as the campaign of mutual strikes between Israel and Hezbollah showed no sign of abating.
Lebanon has been dragged into the war by the intimate alliance between Hezbollah and Iran, and by Israel’s determination to destroy Hezbollah’s military capabilities while simultaneously fighting Iran. The Lebanese health ministry has confirmed over 600 deaths and the Interior Ministry has tracked the movement of more than 800,000 people displaced from their homes. Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into northern Israel on Friday, injuring close to 60 people in a series of salvoes. Israel targeted the Zrarieh Bridge over the Litani River, claiming it was used by Hezbollah for troop movements.
The broader US-Israeli campaign against Iran continued at extraordinary scale. Combined forces have struck more than 15,000 targets since the war began. Israel alone confirmed over 200 strikes in the most recent 24-hour period. Trump announced the complete military obliteration of every military facility on Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export hub, in one of the most powerful bombing raids in Middle Eastern history. He warned that oil infrastructure would be the next target if Iran continued to disrupt Strait of Hormuz shipping. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei as wounded and hiding underground.
Iran’s campaign against Gulf states continued unabated. Saudi Arabia intercepted close to 50 drones in a single day. Qatar ordered Doha evacuations before a missile interception. Two died in Oman in drone crashes. Dubai’s financial district sustained building damage. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched new coordinated strikes on Israel with Hezbollah as part of al-Quds Day. Iran has reported over 1,300 deaths. Israel reports 12. The United States has lost 13 service members, including six in a tanker aircraft crash in Iraq. France lost a soldier in Iraq to a militia drone.
Tehran residents described a city of constant explosions, power cuts, rubble, and trapped civilians unable to flee for lack of fuel. A retired professor begged the world to act. A shopkeeper counted six explosions in one hour. European governments sought diplomatic channels with Tehran for Strait of Hormuz shipping safety. With Trump promising harder strikes and Iran showing no sign of capitulating, the displacement of Lebanese civilians and the bombing of Iranian cities appeared set to continue and worsen in the days ahead.
