One Month Into Trump's Iran War, Red Cross Says 'Foundations of Civilian Life' Eroding Across Middle East

Nearly a full month into US President Donald Trump's illegal war of choice in Iran, the International Committee of the Red Cross issued a statement Thursday expressing horror at the humanitarian catastrophe the deadly conflict has unleashed across the Middle East, with millions of civilians trapped in the crossfire.

"One month of hostilities has upended the lives of millions and sent shockwaves far beyond the region at a scale and speed that threatens to overwhelm the humanitarian response," said the world-renowned organization, a three-time winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. "In just four weeks, thousands have lost their lives, including first responders and humanitarian workers. Hundreds of thousands have been uprooted. Essential infrastructure critical for the supply of energy, water, and health care has been damaged or destroyed. The use of heavy explosive weapons with wide area impact in urban settings has caused suffering and fear."

The war, said the organization, is "eroding the foundations of civilian life in the Middle East."

Without naming any countries in particular, the ICRC condemned "the way hostilities have been waged" with no "respect for the rules of war" that the humanitarian group helped establish and works to uphold.

"At a time of escalating needs and tightening humanitarian budgets, the ICRC and other organizations are being forced to adapt to disrupted supply chains that are undermining their operations," the group said Thursday. "Meanwhile, several countries already burdened by humanitarian crises must now also contend with rising fuel prices and increasing operational costs.

"Respect for the rules of war reduces the consequences for civilians, especially during military operations," the organization added. "All parties, regardless of the side they are on, are bound by international humanitarian law (IHL), and all states have an obligation to respect and ensure respect for IHL, even if their adversary does not."

"Those who survive the bombardment are waking up to a dire humanitarian reality. We are seeing families fleeing with only the clothes on their backs."

The Red Cross statement came as aid groups and human rights organizations assessed the state of the US-Israeli war on Iran—and the Iranian government's retaliatory attacks on Gulf nations—one month after Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the joint military assault, and as fears of an imminent US ground invasion of Iran mount.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement delivered to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday that it is "alarmed by attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure across the conflict, including schools and hospitals, and other harms to children including as a result of mass displacement."

Save the Children estimated that one in every five kids in Lebanon has been forced to flee their home since Israel intensified its aerial and ground assault on southern Lebanon in conjunction with the war on Iran.

“No child should have to run for their life in the middle of the night. Yet in Lebanon today, it’s happening to family after family - children fleeing, terrified,” Inger Ashing, the group's chief executive officer, said Friday. "Lebanon’s children are being pushed past their limits. They are exhausted, traumatized, and losing the very foundations of childhood. The world cannot look away—we need action, and we need it now."

Marcoluigi Corsi, the UN Children's Fund representative in Lebanon, said Friday that "the human cost of this escalation is shocking."

"Those who survive the bombardment are waking up to a dire humanitarian reality. We are seeing families fleeing with only the clothes on their backs, forced to move multiple times within days as repeated displacement orders are issued," said Corsi. “Meanwhile, essential civilian infrastructure—including hospitals, schools, bridges, and water and sanitation systems—upon which children depend to carry on with their lives have been consistently attacked, damaged, or destroyed."

In Iran, more than 1,900 people—including women and children—have been killed by US-Israeli attacks, and at least 20,000 have been injured, according to the latest estimate from the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

"The humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating," Maria Martinez, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, warned on Friday.