Immediate Ceasefire Needed as Attacks on Civilians Intensify
Global Leaders Must Confront Growing Civilian Crisis with Urgency and Resolve
June 16, 2025 — As the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) condemns in the strongest possible terms the deliberate targeting of civilians, the bombardment of residential neighborhoods, and the destruction of critical infrastructure.
The toll in innocent lives is mounting and the world must not remain silent.
CHRI urgently calls on global leaders to demand an immediate end to attacks on civilian areas by both sides, and to vigorously work toward a ceasefire and a negotiated solution to this conflict. Indiscriminate violence against civilians is a grave violation of international law and a moral failure of the highest order.
According to a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Health, as of June 15, Israeli strikes in cities across Iran have killed at least 224 people since hostilities began on June 13, and injured 1,277. The majority of these casualties have been civilians, including 45 women and children killed and 75 injured. Residential areas have been hit, and extremely large numbers of residents are desperately trying to flee Tehran, the capital.
On June 16, Israel issued a warning to evacuate District 3 of northeastern Tehran, which is a densely populated area of 300,00 people “in the coming hours.” Yet since the Iranian authorities have disrupted Internet access in Iran over the last few days, many civilians may not receive this warning.
Moreover, Iran’s notorious Evin Prison is on the edge of District 3, and the prisoners there, which include numerous political prisoners, have no way to evacuate. The prisoners there are trapped and we are gravely concerned about their safety. Protecting these individuals is paramount, and CHRI urges all parties to abide by international law.
In Israel meanwhile, 24 people have reportedly been killed and more than 590 injured as of June 16, almost all of whom are civilians. The Islamic Republic has targeted residential areas in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, and elsewhere. Casualties would be far higher if not for the high percentage of Islamic Republic attacks that have been intercepted by the Israeli Defense Forces, as well as the presence of an extensive system of shelters and warning sirens throughout Israel.
These attacks by both parties are blatant violations of international humanitarian law. The laws of war demand that all parties to a conflict distinguish between combatants and civilians, take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm, and preserve infrastructure essential to life. Yet both parties have repeatedly attacked cities, residential areas, and infrastructure, escalating a cycle of destruction with devastating consequences for ordinary people.
CHRI calls for an immediate ceasefire to open a pathway to diplomacy and allow the parties to the conflict to come to the table and pursue a negotiated solution to the war.
The international community must not acquiesce to a situation in which the most basic international humanitarian laws are flouted, and deaths, injuries, and displacements of large numbers of civilians are accepted as collateral damage. The targeting of civilians must not be normalized.
