KATHMANDU: The number of civilian casualties across several Middle Eastern countries has risen sharply following direct military attacks launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.

According to the latest reports, more than 600 people have been killed across Iran, Israel, Lebanon, and multiple Gulf nations since the escalation began.

Iran has suffered the highest number of deaths. Since the joint US-Israeli military operation began on Saturday, at least 555 people have been killed in the country. Iranian state media reported that 168 students were killed in a devastating attack on a primary school. Iran’s casualties also include one Chinese national, a fact confirmed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health stated that at least 31 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting southern Lebanon and the capital, Beirut.

In Israel, 10 people have been killed and more than 200 injured since the launch of military operations against Iran. According to Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom, nine people were killed on the spot when a missile struck a bomb shelter in the city of Beit Shemesh.

Tensions have also escalated in Iraq, where four people were killed in a US–Israeli strike targeting the headquarters of the Iran-backed militia group Popular Mobilization Forces.

In the United Arab Emirates, Iran’s retaliatory drone attacks resulted in the deaths of one citizen each from Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The conflict has also spilled into other Gulf nations. In Kuwait, three US soldiers were killed in a suspected drone attack, while a separate strike in the same area claimed the life of one civilian, according to the country’s health ministry.

Similarly, in Bahrain, one person was killed after a fire broke out when missile debris fell in Salman Industrial City.