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At least 555 people have been killed in Iran by US-Israeli attacks, Iranian Red Crescent Society says<\/p>\n
The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has said in a Telegram post that 555 people have been killed in Iran by Israel-US attacks across 131 cities.<\/p>\n
Over 100,000 rescuers are on \u201cfull alert\u201d across the country, the IRCS said, adding that a \u201cnetwork of approximately 4 million volunteers is on standby\u201d to provide \u201chumanitarian services\u201d and \u201cpsychosocial support\u201d.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a>Saudi oil refinery reportedly halts operations after drone attack<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s Ras Tanura oil refinery came under attack on Monday from drones, the country\u2019s defence ministry said. Authorities downed the incoming aircraft and there were no reported injuries.<\/p>\n The announcement follows an earlier report in Bloomberg<\/a> saying that Saudi Arabia\u2019s state oil company Aramco had paused operations at the Ras Tanura refinery after a drone strike in the area.<\/p>\n The Ras Tanura complex houses one of the Middle East\u2019s largest refineries with a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day.<\/p>\n Its shutting will likely add to supply anxieties as shipping through the strait of Hormuz, through which 13-15 million barrels, or 20% of global supply, of oil flows \u2013 grinds to a near-halt after vessels were attacked around it yesterday.<\/p>\n Iranian missiles or drones have hit airports, luxury hotels and other civilian targets across the Gulf, with strikes reported in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia<\/a> and the UAE, sparking outrage among Gulf governments.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Amy Hawkins is the Guardian\u2019s senior China correspondent<\/p>\n China\u2019s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday that a Chinese citizen had been killed in Tehran.<\/p>\n Beijing has urged Chinese citizens in Iran to leave \u201cas soon as possible\u201d via land routes to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and Iraq. China\u2019s embassy in Israel<\/a> also advised nationals to evacuate to safe areas or leave the country.<\/p>\n China\u2019s foreign minister Wang Yi has condmenned the US-Israel strikes on Iran<\/a>, calling them \u201cunacceptable\u201d and called for a ceasefire. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n You can watch a video of Israel\u2019s air attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut in the early hours of Monday morning here:<\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images coming in from Lebanon, where the country\u2019s health ministry is saying Israeli strikes in Beirut and on the south of the country have killed at least 31 people and injured 149.<\/p>\n The deadly Israeli attacks came after Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militia group, launched missiles and drones towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n A man takes pictures of the damage in an apartment building after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahieh, Beirut\u2019s southern suburb, on 2 March 2026. Photograph: Hussein Malla\/APDebris covers a street beside an apartment building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahieh. Photograph: Hussein Malla\/APDisplaced residents from Beirut\u2019s southern suburb sit on the ground at Corniche Al Manara in Beirut. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh\/EPALebanese people flee from the southern suburbs of Beirut after leaving their homes after Israeli strikes. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh\/EPAA damaged building is seen after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburb neighbourhood of Haret Hreik in Beirut. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.29 EST<\/p>\n Kuwait says ‘several’ US warplanes have crashed in the country, with all the crew surviving<\/p>\n Several American warplanes crashed in Kuwait this morning, the country\u2019s defence ministry said.<\/p>\n All the pilots bailed out safely and are been checked up on at a hospital, according to the ministry. They are all in a stable condition.<\/p>\n It is not immediately clear what caused the US warplanes to crash but the incident came during an intense period of Iranian fire targeting the country.<\/p>\n The defence ministry said it is continuing investigations into the \u201ccauses of the incident\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Journalists from the Associated Press reported hearing several loud explosions on Monday morning in Erbil, the capital city of Iraq\u2019s semiautonomous region of Kurdistan.<\/p>\n It comes after loud explosions were heard early on Sunday near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops. Since the start of the US-Israel bombing campaign against Iran, drones have frequenty been intercepted over Erbil.<\/p>\n Smoke rises from Erbil international airport after it was hit in an attack, in Erbil, Iraq, on 1 March 2026. Photograph: Khalid Al-Mousily\/ReutersShare<\/a> Cyprus has put authorities on alert, closing schools and evacuating people where necessary, after it was dragged into the spiralling conflict across the Middle East following a drone attack on RAF Akrotiri, a British base on the island.<\/p>\n In an early morning address to the nation, president Nikos Christodoulides said his country\u2019s security was the government\u2019s paramount concern.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are located in a region of particular geopolitical instability, with many challenges and problems, currently undergoing an unprecedented crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are doing what must be done, with the safety of our country and our citizens as our foremost concern,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Cyprus\u2019s President Nikos Christodoulides has said his top priority is the safety and security of his country. Photograph: Fabio Frustaci\/EPA<\/p>\n The Cypriot leader said it remained the firm stance of the eastern Mediterranean island, the EU\u2019s closest member state to the Middle East and a popular tourist destination, to not \u201cbecome part of any military operation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe remain committed to the humanitarian role we have fulfilled throughout this period \u2013 always as part of the solution and not the problem \u2013 and we will continue to act with the same sense of responsibility,\u201d he said in te address.<\/p>\n Referring to the midnight strike, Christodoulides told the island nation that \u201can unmanned aerial vehicle of the Shahed type struck within the military installations of the British Bases in Akrotiri, causing minor material damage.\u201d<\/p>\n Greek media reports suggested a second combat aerialvehicle, also deployed against the British facility by Iran<\/a>, approximately 600 miles away, had been neutralised.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said it is moving families from the RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus after it was targeted in a suspected Iranian drone strike<\/a> last night at around midnight local time (22:00 GMT), in an attack which caused limited damage but no casualties,<\/p>\n An MoD spokesperson said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe safety of our personnel and their families is our absolute priority.<\/p>\n As a precautionary measure we are moving family members who live at RAF Akrotiri to alternative accommodation nearby on the island of Cyprus.<\/p>\n Our base and personnel continue to operate as normal protecting the safety of Britain and our interests.<\/p>\n The main gate of RAF Akrotiri base is seen after it was hit by a suspected drone strike. Photograph: Petros Karadjias\/AP<\/p>\n The UK has agreed to let the US use British military bases to attack Iranian missile sites, with the prime minister, Keir Starmer, saying Tehran\u2019s actions were becoming more reckless and putting British lives at risk,<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.27 EST<\/p>\n Summary<\/p>\n In case you\u2019re just joining us, here\u2019s an overview of the latest news as the US-Israeli war on Iran moves into its third day.<\/p>\n The Israeli military said on Monday it was striking Hezbollah across Lebanon<\/a>, after the militant group launched missiles and drones towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Israeli strikes on Beirut\u2019s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs and on southern Lebanon killed at least 31 people and wounded 149, Lebanon\u2019s health ministry said. The Israeli military urged people in nearly 50 Lebanese villages to evacuate.<\/p>\n Explosions were heard across the Gulf cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Manama as well as in Jerusalem on Monday. Smoke was seen rising from the US embassy in Kuwait City and it warned of a continuing threat of attacks over Kuwait.<\/p>\n Donald Trump warned on Sunday that combat operations in Iran would carry on \u201cuntil all of our objectives are achieved\u201d. The US president continued to justify the operation and said: \u201cI once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military police, to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump told Fox News that 48 leaders have been killed in the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. \u201cIt\u2019s moving along rapidly \u2026 Nobody can believe the success we\u2019re having, 48 leaders are gone in one shot.\u201d<\/p>\n A suspected drone strike hit RAF Akrotiri<\/a> \u2013 a UK base in Cyprus \u2013 the British Ministry of Defence confirmed. There were no casualties at the base. The suspected strike came hours after Keir Starmer said the UK had allowed the US to strike Iranian missile sites from British bases<\/a> as officials plan an unprecedented rescue operation for UK citizens in the Gulf.<\/p>\n Hundreds more flights were cancelled on Monday, extending the turmoil in global air travel caused by the war, with hundreds of thousands of passengers already stranded.<\/p>\n Oil prices soared<\/a> <\/a>and stock markets came under pressure<\/a> on Monday after the strikes on Iran prompted fears of significant global economic disruption.<\/p>\n The death toll from a missile strike on a girls\u2019 school in southern Iran<\/a> on Saturday rose to almost 165, according to Iranian state media.<\/p>\n Three US service members have been killed<\/a> as part of US military operations against Iran, US Central Command said on Sunday.<\/p>\n Trump said Iran\u2019s new leadership wanted to talk to him and that he had agreed, according to an interview with the Atlantic. Iran\u2019s security chief, Ali Larijani, later said Tehran would \u201cnot negotiate with the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.29 EST<\/p>\n Hundreds more flights were cancelled on Monday, extending the turmoil in global air travel caused by the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a>, with hundreds of thousands of passengers already stranded.<\/p>\n Callum Jones<\/a> also reports that leading airline stocks came under pressure after days of disruption<\/a>, with Donald Trump indicating that the US military action could last another four weeks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Major Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai<\/a> \u2013 the world\u2019s busiest international hub \u2013 closed for a third consecutive day amid the most acute aviation shock since the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the industry.<\/p>\n Flights across the Middle East have been cancelled, disrupting thousands of services so far, as international carriers continued to suspend their services.<\/p>\n Early on Monday, 1,239 flights had already been cancelled. Emirates Airlines, based in Dubai; Etihad Airways, based in Abu Dhabi; and Qatar<\/a> Airways, based in Doha; have collectively cancelled hundreds of flights.<\/p>\n A plume of smoke caused by an Iranian strike rises in the distance behind an Emirates plane parked at Dubai international airport on Sunday. Photograph: Altaf Qadri\/AP<\/p>\n Almost 2,800 flights were cancelled on Saturday and 3,156 cancelled on Sunday, according to the tracking platform FlightAware.<\/p>\n See full report here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.47 EST<\/p>\n Israeli military says fighting Hezbollah could take ‘many’ more days<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military chief has said the fighting against Hezbollah that began early on Monday could take \u201cmany\u201d more days.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah,\u201d Eyal Zamir said in a video shared by the military on Monday and cited by AFP, hours after rocket fire claimed by the Lebanese militant group prompted a wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must be prepared for several days of fighting \u2013 many.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>US embassy in Kuwait warns of attack threat and urges people to take cover<\/p>\n The US embassy in Kuwait City is reportedly urging people not to come to the embassy and to take cover.<\/p>\n It is also saying there is a continuing threat of missile and drone attacks over Kuwait.<\/p>\n Kuwait City after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran at the weekend. Photograph: Stephanie McGehee\/Reuters<\/p>\n The warning comes after smoke was seen rising from the US embassy and amid reports Iran had launched another wave of strikes on Gulf states and on Israel.<\/p>\n Sirens were heard sounding earlier over Kuwait City.<\/p>\n Explosions have been heard in Jerusalem and across the Gulf cities of Dubai, Doha and Manama as Tehran pressed into a third day of strikes in response to US and Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.34 EST<\/p>\n Smoke is rising from the US embassy in Kuwait City, an AFP correspondent is reporting.<\/p>\n![\"Amy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Amy_Hawkins.png\")
Amy Hawkins<\/p>\n![\"Israel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772442133_901_1920.jpg\")
Israel fires on Lebanese capital Beirut \u2013 videoShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Helena](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/helena.jpg\")
Helena Smith<\/p>\n