Iran death toll rises to 224 in Israeli airstrikes

TEHRAN: The death toll in Iran has climbed to at least 224, with over 90% of the casualties reported to be civilians, according to a spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Health.

As reported by the Tehran Times, Hossein Kermanpour, spokesperson for the Ministry, said the toll reflects the tragic consequences of what he described as the “false slogan” that “Israel targets only military sites and has no quarrel with the Iranian people.”

Kermanpour stated that most of the victims were women and children, and that 1,277 people have been hospitalized across university-affiliated medical centers nationwide in the wake of Israeli airstrikes over the past 65 hours.

The Health Ministry emphasized that the scale and nature of the casualties contradict Israeli claims of precision targeting, and instead underscore the indiscriminate impact of the attacks on Iranian civilians.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, has condemned the Israeli regime for killing children in its ongoing war of aggression against Iran.

“The Israeli regime has killed many children during the past 3 days of its war of aggression on Iran and has also targeted a children’s hospital (Hakim Children’s Hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences),” Baqaei wrote on his X account.

He said that the Israeli regime is “killing children as a hobby” as admitted once by Yair Golan, the former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli army.