Iran’s Air Defences Destroy 110 Drones

• CrossFireArabia
• March 13, 2026

Iran on Friday said that its air defenses have destroyed 111 drones since the start of the war involving the US and Israel, according to a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The statement, reported by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, said an armed MQ-9 drone was intercepted and destroyed over Firuzabad in Fars Province, while another drone was also shot down in the skies over Tabriz.

It added that the total number of drones of various types destroyed since the start of the war has reached 111 according to Anadolu.

Tensions across the Middle East have flared up since Israel and the US launched a joint attack on Iran on Feb. 28, killing so far around 1,300 people, including the then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets, resulting in casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure and affecting global markets and aviation.

Lebanon: Women Forced to Deliver on Roads

• CrossFireArabia
• March 13, 2026

As the UN Secretary-General touched down in Beirut on Friday in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, UN agencies highlighted the dangers for civilians and particularly pregnant women and migrant workers, amid ongoing airstrikes and rocket fire between Hezbollah fighters and Israel. 

“There’s 11,600 pregnant women who are affected, 4,000 are anticipated to give birth over the next three months,” said Anandita Philipose, Lebanon Representative for the UN population fund, UNFPA. 

“Many of these women have been forced from their homes, cut off from essential health services and forced to give birth in dangerous conditions, some even by the side of the road.”

The situation across Lebanon has escalated dramatically – and notably in the south, Beirut, Mount Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley – since war erupted across the Middle East, sparked by Israeli-U.S. strikes in Iran on 28 February, Iranian counterstrikes in many Gulf States, Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel and Israeli airstrikes in response.

Health care hit

According to UNFPA, 55 hospitals and clinics have been forced to close, either because they are in zones impacted by Israeli mass evacuation orders, “or because there’s been direct damage to them”, Ms. Philipose added.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, has recorded daily rocket, missile and drone attacks on Israel and the occupied Golan from Lebanon and artillery fire, air and drone strikes by Israeli soldiers, who have made “ground incursions up to seven kilometres (4.3 miles) into Lebanon”, said Kandice Ardiel, UNIFIL spokesperson.

Speaking via video from the force’s headquarters in Naqoura close to the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel, Ms. Ardiel highlighted a significant escalation on Wednesday evening. That involved more than 100 projectiles “fired from Lebanese territory and over 100 projectiles fired right back from Israel, as well as seven airstrikes within our area of operations”.

Nonetheless, “things have been more quiet yesterday. We haven’t seen so much activity, and I haven’t seen any numbers from today, but I’ll say here in Naqoura, it’s been fairly quiet…nonetheless, it’s a very volatile situation and anything can change at any moment.”

Migrant vulnerability

As the violence continues, the UN migration agency, IOM, warned that more than 822,000 people have been displaced so far inside Lebanon alone, with migrants “particularly vulnerable” and with “nowhere to go”, said Mathieu Luciano, IOM Chief of Mission in Lebanon.  

“Lebanon hosts 200,000 migrants. They come here for work and they’re particularly vulnerable,” he said from Beirut. “They come from Ethiopia, from Sri Lanka, from Kenya, Sudan, Bangladesh and other countries and most of them were working in agriculture, construction, also domestic workers, and the crisis has hit them hard. It left many with nowhere to go and relying on community organizations, churches, their embassies and NGOs for safety.”

According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, more than 4.1 million people have been internally displaced in Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan since the beginning of the escalation.

Help to leave Iran 

Inside Iran, IOM said that it has already assisted migrants to return home from Iran. “We have requests to assist others. Right now, the barrier is resources to be able to do so,” said David John, Director of Movement, Resettlement and Labour Pathways at the agency.

“So far, the numbers that are being mentioned are that some 11,400 Iranians have crossed into Türkiye, while over 24,600 Afghans have returned from Iran back into Afghanistan. Both figures are remaining currently within the daily average crossings,” UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told journalists in Geneva.

The UN agency has found work-arounds to counter supply chain disruption caused by the war. “Despite ongoing airspace closures and many time disruptions, UNHCR has been able to respond quickly,” Mr. Baloch explained. “Essential relief items are pre-positioned across the region, including Termiz in Uzbekistan, strategically close to Iran and several country-level warehouses.” UN News

US Loses Nearly $4 Billion in Military Assets

• CrossFireArabia
• March 13, 2026

The United States has lost approximately $3.84 billion in assets in the first two weeks of “Operation Epic Fury,” according to estimates and data compiled by Anadolu.

The largest items driving the cost are damaged and destroyed AN/TPY-2 radar components belonging to THAAD missile defense systems in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, valued at an estimated $2 billion. While the extent of the damage is unclear, satellite imagery analyzed by multiple outlets confirms that four AN/TPY-2 radars have been hit across these locations.

A US AN/FPS-132 early warning radar at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, valued at $1.1 billion, was struck by an Iranian missile when retaliatory attacks began on Feb. 28. Qatari authorities confirmed that the radar was damaged according to Anadolu.

US officials speaking to CBS News have so far confirmed that 11 MQ-9 Reaper drones have been downed. At a unit cost of roughly $30 million, the total loss of the drones is about $330 million.

On the second day of strikes, three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were lost in a friendly-fire incident involving Kuwaiti air defenses. While all six aircrew survived, the aircraft were destroyed, with replacement costs estimated at $282 million.

A KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft crashed in western Iraq during an operation on Thursday, killing all six aircrew. The replacement cost of the plane, first adopted in the late 1950s, is $80 million, adjusted for inflation.

Iran also struck the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, destroying two satellite communications terminals and several large buildings.

Open-source intelligence reports have identified the targeted communication terminals as AN/GSC-52Bs, with an estimated cost of $20 million, factoring in deployment and installation.

In addition to the terminals lost in Bahrain, satellite imagery analyzed by The New York Times of Camp Arifjan in Kuwait showed three destroyed radomes, adding roughly $30 million in damage.

Combining these costs, the US has lost $3.84 billion worth of military assets in its ongoing conflict with Iran.

Hezbollah Prepared For ‘Long War’ With Israel

• CrossFireArabia
• March 13, 2026

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group is prepared for a long confrontation as cross-border attacks intensify.

Key Developments

• Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the group is prepared for a long confrontation with Israel.
• Qassem said Israel “does not have the ability to achieve its goals.”
• Hezbollah confirmed a series of rocket and drone attacks targeting Israeli settlements and military sites.
• Israeli media reported preparations for a large-scale ground operation inside Lebanon.
• Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced the 45th wave of Operation True Promise 4 in coordination with Hezbollah.

Ready for a Long War

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Friday that the group is prepared for a prolonged confrontation with Israel.

Speaking during a televised address marking International Quds Day, Qassem said Hezbollah had prepared itself for a long battle and warned that Israel would face unexpected developments on the battlefield. He said the group had learned lessons from previous confrontations.

Qassem also argued that Israel lacks clear military objectives in the current war.

“We found that the conditions have become suitable for us to confront the enemy in order to weaken its position and drag it into a better agreement,” he said.

He added that “the Israeli enemy does not have the ability to achieve its goals.”

‘Battle of Resistance’

Qassem described the current conflict as a defensive war. He said Hezbollah’s operations are part of a resistance campaign against Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

“The battle that Hezbollah is waging is a battle of resistance against Israeli aggression on Lebanon,” he said.

Qassem also stressed that the confrontation is fundamentally a Lebanese struggle based on self-defense. He said the war is “a legitimate defense battle to confront the American-Israeli aggression against Lebanon.”

According to Qassem, Lebanon has faced continuous Israeli attacks for more than a year. He said “there is no solution to the aggression except resistance, otherwise Lebanon will be destroyed.”

Qassem also criticized diplomatic efforts to end the fighting. He argued that political initiatives had failed to halt the violence and called on the Lebanese government to stop what he described as “gratuitous concessions.”

New Operations

Since the launch of the military operation ‘Eaten Straw’, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has intensified its attacks on Israeli military positions and settlements.

According to Hezbollah statements, fighters targeted Kiryat Shmona with a swarm of attack drones on Friday. The settlement of Nahariya was also targeted with a barrage of rockets.

Resistance fighters later launched missile attacks against several locations in northern Israel, including the Meron air operations monitoring base, the Even Menachem settlement, and the Kabri settlement. Another missile barrage reportedly targeted the Geva drone control base east of Safed.

Hezbollah also launched three rocket attacks against Israeli troop concentrations in the border settlement of Metula, according to its statement.

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/millions-of-iranians-rally-for-palestine-on-quds-day-amid-us-israeli-aggression/embed/#?secret=bdAOcTCGsg#?secret=RozRAhuWIv

Hezbollah said it also carried out attacks against Israeli occupation forces operating inside south Lebanon. Fighters reportedly targeted Israeli troops near the Khiam detention center using rocket barrages.

The group also said it attacked the newly established Balat military site.

Additional rocket attacks targeted Israeli troop gatherings in the southern neighborhood of Khiam, the Tell al-Hamams site, Khallat al-Asafir, and the Marj site opposite Markaba. Another attack targeted the Kfar Jaladi quarry.

Coordinated Attacks

Meanwhile, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced in a statement on Friday the launch of the 45th wave of Operation True Promise 4, stating that the latest attacks were coordinated with Hezbollah.

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/80-injured-hundreds-of-homes-damaged-as-iran-hezbollah-missiles-hit-israel/embed/#?secret=7FRe6v1fzy#?secret=gEYOSJumKw

According to the IRGC, the operation was carried out jointly by the naval forces of the Revolutionary Guard and drone units from the Iranian army, the Guard and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Hezbollah began launching attacks on Israeli positions on March 2, saying the operations were a response to Israeli raids and assassinations. Palestine Chronicle