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Middle East crisis live: top Iranian nuclear scientists killed, Israel says; US carrying out rescue efforts after losing refuelling plane in Iraq

The Lebanese health ministry has said that 70 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday. Among the dead were two academics, Hussein Bazzi and Murtadha Sarour, killed in an attack on the campus of Lebanese University. Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, condemned the attack as a “flagrant violation of international laws and norms”. What happened today at the Faculty of Sciences is a crime condemned by all standards, and a flagrant violation of international laws and norms that prohibit attacks on educational institutions and civilians. It is a new chapter in the targeting of civilians.

Israeli military drops charges against soldiers accused of Gaza detainee abuse

Israel’s top military lawyer has dropped all charges against five soldiers accused of the violent abuse and rape of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza. The military advocate general, Itay Offir, said prosecutors lacked key evidence after the victim was sent back to Gaza, and that the conduct of senior officials had affected the chance of holding a fair trial. Medical records show the detainee was taken to hospital in the summer of 2024 with injuries including broken ribs, a punctured lung and rectal damage, according to Israeli media reports on the indictment. The detainee had been held at the Sde Teiman military detention centre, which has become notorious for torture. After the first arrests of Israeli soldiers in connection with the attack, a far-right mob including a minister and lawmakers broke into the base demanding the men’s release. Israeli media broadcast a video of the attack soon after. Offir’s predecessor has been arrested on suspicion of authorising the leak, in an apparent attempt to defuse anger about the arrests and refute claims the men had been unfairly charged. It had little effect inside Israel, where the men’s supporters have claimed they were targeted for routine security work in a military detention centre. The five soldiers have not been named. Offir said in a statement that the video did not present a clear picture of the attack, because “the vast majority of the defendants’ actions are obscured by shields”. He also said the decision to release the detainee back to Gaza as part of the October 2025 ceasefire deal negotiated by Donald Trump meant he could no longer give testimony at trial. The detainee was never charged or tried while in Israeli custody. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, welcomed the decision to drop charges, saying it was unacceptable it had taken so long and describing the men as “heroic warriors”. Rights groups said the decision raised serious questions about the rule of law in Israel and accountability for abuse and killing of Palestinians during what a UN commission has called a genocidal war. Sari Bashi, the executive director of the rights group Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, said: “Israel’s military attorney general just gave his soldiers licence to rape, so long as the victim is Palestinian. “[The decision] is the latest in a long line of actions that whitewash abuses against detainees whose frequency and severity have worsened since 7 October 2023.” There has been only one conviction of an Israeli soldier for assaulting Palestinians in detention over the more than two years of war, despite widespread torture and abuse having been documented in Israel’s jail system, including sexualised torture. Dozens of Palestinians have died in captivity. Suhad Bishara, the legal director of the rights group Adalah, said it was a particularly strong case “where the world saw security footage of the assault alongside medical evidence of severe sexual and physical abuse”. “By abandoning the charges, the Israeli military has made clear that those who engage in the torture of Palestinians face no risk of accountability.” Quique Kierszenbaum contributed reporting

Putin’s ‘hidden hand’ lies behind Iran’s drone tactics, UK defence secretary says

Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” lies behind Iran’s military methods, the UK defence secretary has said, after a night in which drones struck a base used by western forces in Erbil, northern Iraq. John Healey was speaking after British officers at the UK’s military headquarters in north-west London told him that drone pilots from Iran and Iranian proxies were increasingly adopting tactics “from the Russians”. Iran has already fired more than 2,000 Shahed drones – long-range weapons heavily used by Russia against Ukraine – across the Middle East in response to the US-Israeli attack launched on 28 February. Lt Gen Nick Perry, the chief of joint operations, told Healey as he visited the UK’s military command centre in Northwood it appeared that Russia had since passed back tactical advice to Iran and its proxies on how to deploy them. Iranian drone pilots were “flying them much lower, and therefore they were more effective” in hitting targets, Perry said. That had “proven problematic”, he said, because Shahed drones were becoming one of Tehran’s more effective weapons as the conflict heads towards a third week. Overnight, a number of drones struck a western military base in Erbil, where British military personnel were based. A UK counter-drone team there shot down two others. There were no British casualties. Talking to journalists after his briefing, Healey said: “I think no one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics and potentially, potentially some of their capabilities as well.” He argued that was partly “because the one world leader that is benefiting from sky-high oil prices at the moment is Putin, because it helps him with a fresh supply of funds for his brutal war in Ukraine”. Tehran signalled its defiance on Thursday with a statement issued in the name of Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as supreme leader after the late ayatollah was killed at the start of the war. The declaration, delivered by a newsreader on state television, gave no clues on the state of the reportedly wounded leader’s health. It vowed Iran would continue to attack US bases in the region and keep the strait of Hormuz closed. The International Energy Agency said the war had already caused the “largest supply disruption in history” on world oil markets. The US president, Donald Trump, shrugged off the impact of oil price spikes, writing on his Truth Social platform that because the US was the world’s biggest oil producer, “we make a lot of money”. Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, issued a rebuke to Trump’s repeated claims over the past two weeks that the conflict would be over quickly. “Trump says he is looking for a speedy victory,” Larijani said on X. “While starting a war is easy, it cannot be won with a few tweets. We will not relent until making you sorry for this grave miscalculation.” The Tasnim news agency, associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, broadcast footage of missiles being launched against the country’s enemies, though it was not possible to verify how old the footage was. Russia and Iran have cooperated on military issues since Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Iran supplying and then passing on the design for Shahed 136 deltawing drones. US sources say that in return Moscow has passed Tehran military intelligence in the past fortnight, though the Putin denied doing so in a phone call with Trump on Monday. Healey said he had discussed what was in effect the closure of the strait of Hormuz with the E5 group of European defence ministers on Wednesday, and that there were “clearer and clearer” reports that Iran was trying to mine the strategic waterway through which around a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. The UK had some “autonomous systems” available in the Middle East that could be used to search for Iranian mines, he said, though a mine-hunting vessel previously in the region, HMS Middleton, had returned to the UK for maintenance. Two oil tankers moored five miles of the Iraqi coast were set on fire in an attack on Wednesday night. Iran claimed responsibility for what it said was an underwater drone strike that left one person confirmed dead and Iraq announcing it would suspend its oil terminal operations. The effective closure of the strait, partly by drone attacks on oil tankers and cargo vessels, has pushed the oil price to about $100 a barrel. The quickest way of ending the blockade would be through “a de-escalation of the conflict”, Healey said. The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, said that the US navy was not able to escort ships through the strait of Hormuz now but it was “quite likely” that could happen by the end of the month. The US military remained focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities for now, he said. Other countries, including France, have signalled they might be willing to assist in convoying merchant shipping if the conflict eased. Healey did not rule out that the UK could eventually participate, but a formal proposal is not thought to be close while the US vacillates over the issue. Britain has no available warships in or near the region other than HMS Dragon, which set sail on Tuesday for Cyprus, where it will protect UK airbases, on a voyage expected to last up to a week.

Israel strikes Beirut and orders south Lebanon evacuation as conflict mounts

Israel issued a sweeping new displacement order for southern Lebanon, instructing residents up to 25 miles away from their border to head north, and striking the centre of Beirut in a sharp escalation of its fight with Hezbollah. A spokesperson for the Israeli military on Thursday ordered all residents to head north of the Zahrani River “for their safety”, before it began a bombing campaign against what it said were Hezbollah targets. The order covers major Lebanese cities, including Nabatieh, and dozens of villages. The IDF also issued an evacuation order for a neighbourhood in central Beirut near a row of restaurants, saying the Israeli military would strike a building there. The latest orders come just days after Israel issued instructions for people south of the Litani River and Beirut’s southern suburbs. Nearly a million people have already been internally displaced in 10 days of fighting. “Where can I go?” asked Hamza Zbeeb, a 48-year-old member of the municipality of Nimiriya, one of the villages included in the evacuation order. “Many people have gone to Beirut and returned because there’s nowhere to stay. I don’t want to be on the streets.” A few hours later, Israel struck two buildings in central Beirut, levelling them after warning residents to move away. One of the buildings in Beirut’s Zouq Blat neighbourhood was next to a shelter hosting displaced people, causing large crowds of families seeking shelter in the main square of central Beirut. The other building was close to the prime minister’s office, UN agencies and foreign embassies. Israel’s military leadership is considering an escalated campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah after the pro-Iran group launched its most intense attacks yet on Israel on Wednesday night. Hezbollah let off successive volleys of rockets and drone swarms on Israel, injuring two people, with most of the projectiles either being intercepted or falling into open areas. It continued firing into northern Israel on Thursday, with warning sirens sounding in Safed and surrounding towns. Israel quickly responded by bombarding Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon, which continued into Thursday afternoon, rocking the capital city with periodic airstrikes. The exchange was the most severe yet in the 10-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, in which Hezbollah and Iran coordinated their attacks for the first time. In a statement carried by the Fars and Tasnim news agencies, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the “joint and integrated operation” involved a missile attack by Iran carried out in conjunction with missile and drone fire from Hezbollah. Hezbollah launched more than 200 rockets towards Israeli territory, the statement added, including Israeli military bases in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Beersheba. In Israeli border communities, many spoke of a “very difficult” night. “Last night was a bit crazy,” said Daniel Dorfman, 43, in Metula, a town a few hundred metres from Lebanon. “I don’t get anxious usually but all the walls were shaking. It’s a little bit frightening. Here we get zero warning of any attack. You hear the explosions of the interception before you hear the sirens.” Hezbollah’s operation, called “Operation Chewed Wheat” – a reference to a Quranic verse about reducing one’s enemies to chewed wheat – was a sharp escalation by the group, believed to be battered by nearly two years of daily airstrikes by Israel. Israeli warplanes began bombing Lebanon nearly immediately after Hezbollah’s strikes. The skies of Beirut were lit red and windows shook as Israel unleashed its most powerful bombardment of the southern suburbs yet in this round of fighting. Videos showed collapsed buildings in southern Lebanon and streets choked with smoke illuminated by roaring flames. “It was a very difficult night; what can I say? Bombing all night,” said Ali Hariri, a lawyer and first responder with the Beit al-Talaba organisation in Nabatieh, as he stood amid the rubble-strewn streets of Nabatieh. Israel also carried out a strike in the early hours of Thursday in the neighbourhood of Ramlet al-Baida, central Beirut, on the corniche where many displaced families have been sleeping. Videos showed at least two men lying dead on the seaside walkway. Lebanon’s health ministry said that at least 12 people had been killed and 28 injured in the strike. “It was terrifying,” said Riyadh al-Lattah, a 57-year-old woodworker from the southern suburbs of Beirut who was camped out with his wife and five children across the street from the impact site in Ramlet al-Baida. “We heard them hit once and then once again almost immediately. We didn’t think they would hit here. What’s here? It’s just the sea.” Elsewhere, the health ministry said at least 17 people were injured in the strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, though more casualties were expected from other strikes throughout the country. In southern Lebanon, Israel’s military spokesperson said it was hitting Hezbollah’s missile launchers. They warned residents it would “soon act with overwhelming force” against Hezbollah and residents should distance themselves from affected areas immediately. Human rights groups said the orders equated to forced displacement and could amount to war crimes. They also said the Israeli military should still try to prevent civilian harm, even if civilians did not evacuate. Israeli strikes have killed at least 634 people and injured 1,586 in less than 10 days of fighting. Israel’s security cabinet met on Wednesday night to discuss Lebanon, where officials sought to stop Hezbollah’s ability to launch rockets into Israeli territory. On Wednesday, the head of the Israeli military Lt Gen Eyal Zamir ordered reinforcements to its northern border, redeploying the Golani Brigade from Gaza to the north. The brigade is specialised in offensive ground operations, and analysts said the force’s redeployment could signal a larger ground invasion of Lebanon. Yaakov Selavan, the deputy mayor of the Golan regional council, said residents of northern Israel expected the government and military to “finish the job [with Hezbollah] once and for all” and that the military should advance as far north as the Litani River, 20 miles (30km) into Lebanon. “It is non-arguable. We are not looking to occupy land. We are just looking to survive,” Selavan said. Hezbollah is reportedly preparing itself for a full-scale Israeli invasion of south Lebanon. Hezbollah fighters have been fighting with Israeli troops in south Lebanon, particularly around strategic points in the eastern parts of the country, such as hilltops around al-Khiam. Small units of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force have been acting autonomously to ambush Israeli troops, which have been conducting in-and-out raids in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has reportedly spent the year-and-a-half since its November 2024 ceasefire with Israel rebuilding its capabilities and reconsolidating its organisation. Israel had killed most of the senior leadership of the group and killed or incapacitated thousands of its fighters during the 13-month war, though exact numbers are not known. Lebanon’s government has called on Hezbollah to stop firing into Israel, and has insisted the state should hold the monopoly of violence in the country. But its understaffed, under-equipped army has so far been unable to confront the armed group directly. The government also fears provoking civil strife in Lebanon, which has a long, painful history of sectarian division and violence. The government, with French assistance, has appealed to the international community for a ceasefire in Lebanon, calling for negotiations with Israel while vowing to curb Hezbollah’s activities. Israel and the US, however, are sceptical that the Lebanese government can disarm Hezbollah.

British tourist among 20 charged in Dubai over videos of Iranian missile strikes

A British man is among 20 people who have been charged in the United Arab Emirates under cybercrime laws in connection with filming and posting material related to Iranian attacks on the country. The 60-year-old man, understood to be a tourist who was visiting Dubai, was charged under a law that prohibits sharing material that could disturb public security. The case was highlighted by Detained in Dubai, an organisation that provides legal assistance to individuals in the UAE. While restrictions on filming attacks during conflict are not unusual globally, the case has attracted attention because of the UAE’s reputation as a magnet for influencers whose livelihoods depend on constant filming and posting. Despite the law, footage from recent Iranian attacks has been widely spread on social media. Radha Stirling, the head of Detained in Dubai, said the unnamed man, who is from London, had been charged along with 20 other people after police found a video of an Iranian missile strike in Dubai on his phone, despite the fact he had apparently deleted the video from his phone immediately when challenged. According to the official case summary, those accused are alleged to have used an information network or information technology tool to broadcast, publish, republish or circulate false news, rumours or provocative propaganda that may incite public opinion or disturb public security. “The charges sound extremely vague but serious on paper. In reality, the alleged conduct could be something as simple as sharing or commenting on a video that is already circulating online,” said Stirling in a statement. “Under UAE cybercrime laws, the person who originally posts content can be charged, but so can anyone who reshapes, reposts or comments on it.” One video can quickly lead to dozens of people facing criminal charges. Penalties in such cases can include up to two years in prison, fines ranging from 20,000 AED (£4,000) to AED 200,000, or both, and foreign nationals will also face deportation. Stirling warned that the risk is compounded because multiple counts can be applied, meaning a person who reposts several clips or articles could theoretically face cumulative charges and multiple sentences, even where the actions were entirely innocent. “There are countless images, videos and news reports circulating online about the conflict. People understandably assume that if something is already widely shared or published by media outlets, it must be acceptable to comment on or repost it. In the UAE, that assumption can be extremely dangerous,” she said. “Journalists have travelled to Dubai specifically to film missile interceptions, sending footage to editors abroad who then publish it from outside the country. But once that material appears online, residents and visitors inside the UAE who share or comment on it could suddenly find themselves accused of spreading rumours or damaging public security.” The case comes amid the imposition of tight new rules on journalists and members of the public, including visiting foreigners, during a time of high tensions in the Middle East. Restrictions in Iran are particularly severe, while Gulf monarchies, which have been targeted by unprecedented drone and missile attacks from Iran, have also imposed tighter controls. Israel has barred publication of content deemed a direct security threat, such as live broadcasts showing city skylines during missile attacks, images that identify locations of missile impact sites or information on military plans and air defences. Governments seem particularly concerned about images that disclose the location of missile and drone strikes, or that show projectiles being intercepted. AFP, one of the few international news outlets with a Tehran bureau, said this week it has been unable to visit the scene of the strike on a school in the southern town of Minab, where Iranian authorities say more than 150 people, many of them children, were killed by a US Tomahawk missile.

Iran vows to fight on in first message issued in name of Mojtaba Khamenei

Iran issued its first message in the name of its new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Thursday, saying it would keep the strait of Hormuz closed and continue to attack US bases in the region. The missive was read out on state TV rather than delivered live or on video, however, and will do little to satisfy those seeking proof that the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is actually alive. In the message, Khamenei said he would demand compensation from the US for its attacks, and that if Washington refused he would order the destruction of its assets equivalent to the amount Iran is owed. With doubts circulating about his health after the lethal attack on his father’s compound on the first day of the US-Israeli assault, the message read out on state TV is bound to be examined closely for the first clues of the kind of leadership the previously backroom politician intends to provide. Described as a hardliner close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Khamenei, 56, said little in his message about the recent internal divisions in the country save to praise “the masses of people who have gathered in magnificent assemblies to reaffirm their allegiance to the system”. “There must be no harm to the unity of the nation among the individuals and groups of the nation which usually becomes specially evident in times of hardship,” he said. He said he was sure the masses wanted Iran to continue on its path and that “certainly the leverage of blocking the strait of Hormuz must continue to be used. Studies have been made about opening other fronts where the enemy has little experience and will be severely vulnerable”. He also praised the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon for coming to Iran’s aid despite all the obstacles, although the Houthis have so far kept out of the conflict. Khamenei vowed Iran would avenge the “blood of your martyrs”, including the estimated 175 people killed in missile strike on a primary school in Minab. A preliminary US military investigation is reported to have determined that Washington was responsible for the attack. Addressing relations with Iran’s Gulf neighbours after Tehran’s daily barrages of missiles and drones, Khamenei said: “The enemy has gradually established bases, both military and financial, in some of these countries over the years to secure its dominance over the region. “In the recent attack, some military bases were used, and naturally, as we had explicitly warned and without any aggression towards those countries, we only targeted those bases. From now on, we will inevitably continue this action, although we still believe in the necessity of friendship between ourselves and those neighbours.” He urged the Gulf states to “clarify their stance towards the aggressors of our dear homeland and the killers of our people. I recommend that they close those bases as soon as possible, because by now they must have realised that America’s claim of establishing security and peace was nothing but a lie.” Unlike Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, last weekend, Khamenei did not offer any apology for the damage inflicted on the Gulf states, insisting Tehran was not seeking to colonise or dominate. He said the Gulf leaders would forge stronger bonds with their own people and increase their wealth if they severed their countries’ ties with Washington. He said he had learned about his elevation from watching television, and admitted the task was difficult for him. He also referred to his loss of family in the US-Israeli attack. “Apart from my father, whose loss has become a public matter, I have lost my dear and loyal wife … my devoted sister who dedicated herself to serving our parents and ultimately received her due reward, her young child and the wife of another sister … to the caravan of martyrs,” he said. Iranian state media said on Thursday that contrary to earlier reports, the late supreme leader’s wife, Mansour, had survived the attack. She had been reported as having died in a coma two days after the strike. Meanwhile, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a veiled threat to kill the new supreme leader, as he used his first press conference since the start of the war to defend his joint military assault with the US against Iran. Asked what actions Israel might take against Khamenei and Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, he said: “I wouldn’t issue life insurance policies on any of the leaders of the terrorist organisation … I don’t intend to give an exact message here about what we are planning or what we are going to do.”

Dismay as ancient heritage sites across Iran damaged in US-Israel bombing

The governor of the historic Iranian city of Isfahan has accused the US and Israel of a “declaration of war on a civilisation” as heritage sites across the country suffer damage in their bombing campaign. The most serious confirmed damage to date has been to Tehran’s Golestan Palace, dating to the 14th century, and the 17th-century Chehel Sotoon Palace in Isfahan. Judging from videos and public statements, neither historic building was hit by a missile directly but the shock wave from nearby blasts and possibly some missile debris shattered glass and brought down tiles and masonry. Video from the scene showed that Golestan Palace’s celebrated hall of mirrors had been shattered, with shards of intricate mirrorwork scattered across its floor. The palace is a world heritage site under the protection of the UN’s cultural body, Unesco, which issued a statement of concern after it was damaged on 2 March, saying it had “communicated to all parties concerned the geographical coordinates of sites on the world heritage list”. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, criticised Unesco for not being more vociferous, saying on social media: “Its silence is unacceptable.” Araghchi blamed the damage on Israel, who he accused of “bombing Iranian historical monuments dating as far back as the 14th century”. “It’s natural that a regime that won’t last a century hates nations with ancient pasts,” he added on X. One of the damaged sites was Falak-ol-Aflak Castle in the city of Khorramabad, in Lorestan province. According to the head of the province’s heritage department, Ata Hassanpour, a strike hit the castle’s perimeter on Sunday, destroying his department’s offices as well as adjacent archaeological and anthropological museums, and injuring five members of staff. “Fortunately, the main structure of Falak-ol-Aflak Castle was not damaged,” Hassanpour said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging platform. Cultural treasures in Kurdistan province in north-west Iran were also affected, according to local media. InSanandaj, the country’s second biggest Kurdish city, reports said the 19th-century Salar Saeed and Asef Vaziri mansions, which serve as Kurdish museums and heritage sites, had suffered damage to their doors and intricate stained-glass windows. In the past few days, there have been major explosions in the centre of Isfahan, Iran’s capital in three historical eras, where much of the architecture dates back to the Safavid dynasty era, from the 16th to 18th centuries. Chehel Sotoon suffered the worst impact but broken windows and doors, as well as dislodged tilework, have been reported in the Ali Qapu Palace and several mosques around the vast Naqsh-e Jahan Square. Videos filmed by residents from inside the square showed plumes of smoke rising from nearby airstrikes. The Isfahan governor, Mehdi Jamalinejad, said the damage had been inflicted even after coordinates of the historic sites had been circulated among the warring parties and after blue shield signs – denoting historical treasures under the 1954 Hague convention for the protection of cultural objects in war – had been put on the roofs of important buildings. “Isfahan is not an ordinary city, it’s a museum without a roof,” Jamalinejad said in a speech posted on social media. “In none of the previous eras, not in the Afghan wars, not in the Moghul conquest, not even during the ‘sacred defence’ [the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war] was this ever done.” “This is a declaration of war on a civilisation,” he added. “An enemy that has no culture pays no heed to symbols of culture. A country that has no history has no respect for signs of history. A country that has no identity sets no value for identity.” An Iranian geologist who worked in Isfahan for many years said in a message forwarded to the Guardian that the ancient capital was particularly vulnerable. “Isfahan has long been attacked from below, by land subsidence that is destroying the Safavid-era structures, and now from the above, by the Americans,” the geologist said. “Isfahan seems to have fewer friends than ever today.” The US Committee of the Blue Shield, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to upholding the Hague convention, issued a statement saying that Iran’s historic sites “belong not only to the Iranian people, but to all of humanity”. The organisation said it was “disturbed” by the US defence secretary’s declaration on the third day of the war that there would be no “stupid” rules of engagement, and warned that ignoring international and US laws on the conduct of hostilities could lead to the “commission of war crimes”. “The destruction of cultural heritage is irreversible,” the statement said. “It erases identity, history, and the shared memory of civilisations. No military or political objective justifies the wilful or negligent destruction of humanity’s common inheritance.”

Two people die after donating plasma at Canadian clinics under federal investigation

Two people have died in Canada after donating plasma at a chain of clinics that has been under scrutiny by federal inspectors for failing to keep accurate records, screen donors or maintain its machines. While experts say the deaths are exceedingly rare, critics say Canada’s embrace of private companies to handle blood products reflects a “slow collapse of a system that has been the envy of the world”. Health Canada, the federal agency that regulates plasma clinics, said it had received reports from the clinics regarding “fatal adverse reactions” after plasma donations in October 2025 and January 2026. The deaths occurred at facilities operated by the Spanish healthcare company Grifols. In both cases, the two donors went into “distress” while donating, people familiar with the cases told the Guardian. Health Canada said its investigations were continuing. Grifols said in a statement it had “no reason to believe that there is a correlation between the donors’ passing and plasma donation”. CBC News was the first to report the fatal adverse reactions in plasma donors. Plasma, the pale yellow liquid part of blood, is used to create medications for a number of conditions, including haemophilia, and to help treat burn victims. But in recent years, Canada has faced stiff pushback over the extent to which Grifols, which operates 17 facilities in the country, has become enmeshed in the world of blood plasma collection. Canada’s health agency did not disclose the identities of the two donors who died but friends say one was Rodiyat Alabede, 22, an international student who donated plasma in Winnipeg on 25 October. “Rody aspired to become a social worker, dedicating her life to helping others, a dream she was so close to achieving,” friends wrote on a GoFundMe page to raise money to help her family. “Rody was known for her kindness, compassion, and unwavering faith. She was deeply devoted to her dream and always carried herself with grace, warmth, and sincerity.” Three months later, another person died while donating plasma at a different location in Winnipeg. Health Canada said there were immediate visits to the plasma collection centres after each reported fatality and records indicated standard operating procedures were being followed. The Canadian Blood Service said it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and that it monitored donor health and followed “the highest safety standards to safeguard both those who donate in our centres and the patients who receive blood products”. Provincial health agencies were notified only recently about the fatalities, even though the first occurred nearly six months ago. Grifols said: “Every donor undergoes an extensive health history evaluation and physical examination before being deemed eligible to donate. We strive to operate under strict operational procedures at the highest standard.” According to federal inspection reports, one facility in the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan was inspected in January and failed to “accurately assess the donor’s suitability” – one of 11 deficiencies that prompted inspectors to rate the site as non-compliant with Canada’s Food and Drugs Act and the blood regulations. Other failures include “validation, calibration, cleaning, or maintenance of critical equipment [that] were not always sufficient” and records that “were not always accurate, complete, legible, indelible and/or readily retrievable”. Another site in Alberta was found to have 10 deficiencies, including record keeping, donor screening and equipment maintenance. Grifols said: “A ‘non-compliant’ rating means that the identified operational processes require improvement and we are working hard to address those swiftly.” It added that after two recent inspections, it had “submitted detailed action plans to Health Canada and began implementation immediately with a focus on preventing recurrence and strengthening overall compliance”. It said its facilities in Calgary and Regina were previously compliant and “continue normal operations while we implement corrective actions to address the cited concerns”. Of the eight documented instances of non-compliance for blood inspections, which date back to 2016, facilities operated by Grifols made up half of all cases. One inspector with Health Canada, who asked not to be named, told the Guardian he felt the non-compliance reports were “very troubling” and believed they reflected a “deeper set of concerns” about the facilities and how they were run. Curtis Brandell, a blood safety activist who is president of the independent British Columbia chapter of the Canadian Hemophilia Society, said: “When I heard about the first death, I thought it must be a mistake. The donation procedure is safe. But when I learned of a second death – in the same city – alarm bells started going off.” One of the facilities in Winnipeg where a donor died in January, owned by Grifols, is the subject of a lawsuit after a donor said the facility used a faulty machine that damaged his blood, causing “non-reversible and permanent” injuries to his kidney. Craig Loney, an aircraft maintenance technician, said he experienced intense pain and blood in his urine after using a machine that separates the plasma from the red blood cells. He later received an email from the company operating the facility, informing him that a “machine error” had caused some red blood cells removed during the procedure to be “broken” and erroneously returned into his body along with the plasma. The allegations have not been tested in court. Grifols has asked a judge to dismiss the case and said in a court filing the donor was “fully informed of the risks” of the procedure and had consented to possible side-effects. Questions over the structure of how Canadians give blood and plasma are set against the backdrop of a national scandal in which thousands of Canadians were infected with HIV/Aids and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1980s and early 90s. Two of Brandell’s uncles were infected through contaminated blood products. “The Canadian Red Cross knew they were sending out contaminated blood but figured anyone who needed blood needed it for life-saving reasons,” he said. “The Red Cross told themselves if people knew, it would lead to pandemonium and distrust of the system. So they just kept it quiet.” The Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada later made a series of recommendations to ensure the safety of the system. The commission said Canada should aim to be self-sufficient in blood and blood products – but not by creating a commercial donor market, and that a voluntary system was the safest and most ethical model. Canada does not produce enough plasma for domestic use, meaning it must buy its supply from abroad – most often from the US. For decades, Grifols has been one of Canada’s main suppliers of immunoglobulin, a plasma protein used to treat medical conditions such as autoimmune diseases and neurological disorders. Only three provinces – Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec – have a ban on paid donations for plasma, but under a 2022 agreement in Ontario, Grifols operates as an “agent” for the Canadian Blood Services, meaning it can in effect skirt the ban. Grifols pays up to C$100 (£55) for each donation, and donations are permitted twice a week. Those who donate more frequently are enrolled in the company’s “super hero rewards” programme and can receive prizes and cash bonuses of C$50 for every 10 donations made within six weeks. Documented concerns over the company’s problems with record-keeping and cleanliness of machinery were reminiscent of Canada’s tainted blood scandal, argued Brandell. He said the “absolutely tragic” deaths were a wake-up call and added that advocates had been promised by Canadian Blood Services that there were “robust guardrails” in place. “My concerns were, once you have a private company coming into Canada, you lose control over much of the industry. I fear the first thing we’re losing is public accountability and oversight. We were promised transparency. That’s not what we’re getting.”