A report on the 16th (local time) by the British daily Guardian stated that the armed conflict with Iran, triggered by Israel's surprise preemptive strike, has continued for five days, and hospitals in the Iranian capital Tehran are showing limits in receiving the increasing number of casualties.
According to the report, the Israeli airstrikes occurred in various locations throughout Tehran, with patients suffering from both major and minor injuries due to missile debris, burns, internal bleeding, and fractures being continuously transported to major hospital emergency rooms along with the bodies of the deceased. The emergency medical system is nearing a state of paralysis.
A doctor at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran reported, "Patients, numbering in the dozens, are flooding in, from critically injured individuals to those with minor injuries and the deceased," adding that "the hospital has literally become chaos with grieving families and patients."
As missile exchanges between the two sides intensify, the number of patients being transported to emergency rooms is rapidly increasing. The doctor noted, "The age range of patients varies greatly, from babies just starting to walk to the elderly," and mentioned, "Mothers are coming in holding their bleeding children, sometimes realizing their own injuries only after they set the child down."
He expressed, "The last three days felt like experiencing the Iran-Iraq War firsthand, as seen in pictures," adding that "the injuries were horrific and it felt like working in a frontline field hospital." He continued, "We are working shifts without even time to eat or drink, and I fear even more bodies will arrive after morning."
Meanwhile, the Iranian authorities announced on the morning of the 16th that 1,277 injured people and 224 deceased individuals had been transported to nationwide university hospitals. However, a representative from Imam Khomeini Hospital claimed, "The actual number of casualties is much higher than the government's official announcement."
According to medical staff in the hospital's intensive care unit, the authorities have issued guidelines not to post information related to casualties on social media. This raises the possibility of a gap between government announcements and the actual scale of damage.
The Iranian Ministry of Health stated that most facilities Israel claims to be precision strike targets are located adjacent to civilian areas, adding that over 90% of the casualties that have occurred so far are civilians.