Daily Peace and Crisis Report

Compiled March 06, 2026, 08:03 AEDT

1. Iran / Middle East War

The most significant development of the week is the outbreak of a major US-Israel military campaign against Iran, which began on 28 February 2026 and entered its seventh day on 6 March. The United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the initial assault. Iran has retaliated with waves of ballistic missiles and drone attacks across the region, striking targets in Israel, Gulf states, Iraq, and Azerbaijan. (CNN)

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), at least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran since the start of the conflict, with a US-based human rights group reporting more than 1,100 civilian deaths. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has condemned the US torpedo attack on the Iranian warship IRIS Dena — which killed more than 80 sailors off the coast of Sri Lanka — as an "atrocity." (CNN)

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, where Israeli forces have struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut's southern suburbs and ordered mass evacuations south of the Litani River. As of 4 March, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported more than 70 fatalities and over 435 injuries since the escalation began. Israel also struck the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon for the first time. (UN Daily Press Briefing, 5 March 2026)

Iran has launched strikes against Gulf states, hitting an oil refinery in Bahrain, Amazon data centres in Bahrain and the UAE, US embassies across the region, and a British Royal Air Force base in Cyprus. A suspected Iranian missile was intercepted by NATO air defences while travelling toward Turkish airspace — the first such interception since the conflict began. Drone attacks also struck an airport near the Iran-Azerbaijan border, injuring two people. (Al Jazeera Live)

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned both the US-Israeli strikes and Iran's retaliatory attacks, calling for "genuine dialogue and negotiations." The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on 3 March 2026. Around 100,000 people fled Tehran in the first two days following the attacks, according to UNHCR estimates. (UN Daily Press Briefing)

2. Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic, compounded by the regional escalation. On 28 February 2026, Israeli authorities closed all border crossings into Gaza, halting medical evacuations and raising acute concerns about food and fuel supplies. Kerem Shalom Crossing was partially reopened on 3 March for gradual humanitarian aid entry. (UNRWA Situation Report #211)

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, as reported by OCHA, between 7 October 2023 and 16 February 2026, a total of 72,063 Palestinians were killed and 171,726 injured in the Gaza Strip. Since the ceasefire in October 2025 and up to 16 February 2026, an additional 618 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks. (UNRWA)

The WHO has warned that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is "still catastrophic" and has seen only "marginal" improvement since the ceasefire, with the regional escalation threatening to reverse even that limited progress. An estimated 73,000 displaced people are living in UNRWA collective emergency shelters. Only 11 per cent of nearly 1,000 displacement sites have communal lighting, and open sewage was observed in more than half of all sites surveyed. (Politico/WHO)

In the occupied West Bank, settler violence has surged sharply. Between 7 October 2023 and 28 February 2026, 1,058 Palestinians — at least 231 of them children — were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. On 3 March, two Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli settlers in Qaryut, Nablus governorate. US Senators have demanded an investigation after a ninth American citizen was killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers in the West Bank. (The Guardian)

3. Ukraine – Russia War

The war in Ukraine entered its fifth year on 24 February 2026, with no end in sight. Trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States — which had been planned for the period of 5–9 March — have been postponed indefinitely due to the Iran war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the talks could be delayed "for a while." (Kyiv Independent)

Russia continues to demand that Ukraine cede its eastern Donetsk region as a precondition for any peace memorandum. European leaders have indicated they will not send troops to monitor a ceasefire without Russian approval, a position criticised by the Atlantic Council. (Bloomberg)

On the battlefield, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that Russian forces gained 46 square miles of Ukrainian territory in the four weeks from 3 February to 3 March 2026 — approximately one-third of the 123 square miles gained in the preceding four-week period. Ukraine and Russia exchanged 200 prisoners of war each on 5 March 2026. (Al Jazeera)

According to the Ukraine General Staff, Russia has suffered approximately 1,270,400 total casualties (killed and wounded) since 24 February 2022, with 900 soldiers killed or wounded on 5 March alone. A highly-informed former Western official shared with Russia Matters that Russian military casualties stand at approximately 1,000,000, while Ukrainian military casualties are estimated at 250,000–300,000. (Russia Matters)

The UN reports 15,954 Ukrainian civilians killed since the full-scale invasion began, while the Russian government acknowledges approximately 8,000 Russian civilians killed. Some 10,600,000 Ukrainians remain displaced, representing 24 per cent of the pre-invasion population. (Russia Matters / OHCHR)

4. Sudan

Sudan remains the country with the most people in need globally, according to the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) released on 26 February: 33.7 million people require humanitarian assistance, 60 per cent of them children. The UN Human Rights Chief has warned that civilian killings in Sudan's war more than doubled in 2025 compared with 2024, with a growing risk of genocidal violence. (ReliefWeb / OCHA)

The UN Spokesperson reported on 5 March 2026 an alarming escalation of violence in the Kordofan region. A drone strike struck the Dilling General Hospital this week, killing at least four patients and injuring civilians. The city of El Obeid in North Kordofan has faced continued drone attacks over five consecutive days, targeting a hospital and government sites. Confrontations between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have intensified, further endangering civilians and disrupting humanitarian access. (UN Daily Press Briefing)

5. Democratic Republic of Congo

The conflict in eastern DRC has produced two major casualty events this week. On 4–5 March 2026, a landslide at a coltan mine in the Rubaya area of eastern Congo — controlled by the M23 rebel group — killed more than 200 people, including approximately 70 children. The DRC government's Mines Ministry confirmed the death toll, though M23 disputed the figure. (Al Jazeera)

Separately, two mass graves containing 171 bodies were found in parts of eastern Congo from which M23 rebels had recently withdrawn. The UN Secretary-General appointed James Swan of the United States as his new Special Representative for the DRC and head of MONUSCO on 5 March 2026. The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes expressed profound concern over continued violations of ceasefires in eastern DRC. (US State Department)

6. South Sudan

An outbreak of intercommunal violence in the town of Abiemnhom in South Sudan's Ruweng administrative area on 1 March 2026 has resulted in a rising death toll. The BBC reports the toll has risen to 178 killed, with medical aid groups describing the scale of casualties as "alarming, even for a region that has experienced repeated outbreaks of violence." Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has deployed emergency teams to respond and reports that 26 humanitarian workers are missing following recent violence in the country's Jonglei state. (BBC)

The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is also undergoing a leadership transition, with the Secretary-General appointing Major General Junhui Wu of China as the new Force Commander. The mission has had to implement austerity measures at a time when South Sudan is relapsing into another cycle of conflict and violence. (UN Daily Press Briefing)

7. Myanmar

Myanmar's civil war, now in its fifth year following the February 2021 military coup, continues to claim civilian lives. Myanmar military airstrikes on a trading junction in the central Magway region killed more than a dozen people this week, according to resistance groups and independent media. UNICEF issued a statement condemning new reports of children killed and injured in airstrikes in Rakhine State, where strikes reportedly hit homes and a busy market. (UNICEF)

Since the 1 February 2021 coup, a total of 7,850 people, including pro-democracy activists, have been killed by the junta, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). The junta has announced fuel rationing for private vehicles, blaming disruptions to global energy supply chains caused by the Middle East war. Myanmar imports approximately 90 per cent of its fuel oil. (Reuters)

8. Haiti

Haiti's gang crisis continues to deepen, with armed groups controlling an estimated 90 per cent of Port-au-Prince. According to UN statistics, nearly 5,900 people were killed and more than 2,700 injured in 2025 alone. Gang violence has displaced a record 1.4 million people in a country of nearly 12 million inhabitants. Haiti's Prime Minister reshuffled his government on 3 March 2026, while the country prepares for what would be its first election in a decade. (AP News)

9. Yemen

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has been actively engaging with Yemeni, regional, and international actors to prevent Yemen from being drawn into the regional escalation triggered by the Iran war. The UN has warned that the current military escalation in the Middle East could expand to Yemen, where a fragile but real opportunity exists for a comprehensive political process under UN auspices. Yemen-based Houthi rebels have launched fresh attacks in the context of the regional conflict. (UN Daily Press Briefing)

10. International Disarmament and Peacekeeping

5 March 2026 is the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness. UN Secretary-General Guterres warned in his message that the threat of nuclear weapons use is "the highest in decades," with global military spending at "stratospheric levels," small arms proliferating, and emerging technologies making conflicts deadlier. He called for investment in "the architecture of peace, not the tools of war." (UN Daily Press Briefing)

The EU and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held a joint ministerial meeting on 5 March 2026, agreeing to joint diplomatic efforts to bring about a lasting solution to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. France's President Macron stated that "Middle East peace can only be achieved through diplomatic talks," while Germany confirmed it has no plans to send additional military forces to the Middle East beyond its existing UNIFIL contribution. (EU Council)

Key Statistics Table

Note: "—" indicates data not available or not separately reported for this period. All figures are the most recent available as of the compilation date and may be subject to revision. Casualty figures from conflict zones are frequently underreported.

This report is compiled from primary sources including the United Nations, UNRWA, WHO, OCHA, Al Jazeera, CNN, BBC, Reuters, AP News, Russia Matters, UNICEF, and MSF. It is intended for informational purposes only. Compiled March 06, 2026, 08:03 AEDT by Manus AI for mpap.au and prioritisepeace.au.