Iran says US-Israeli strike kills 175 at girls’ school, UN condemns
At least 175 people were killed in Saturday’s strike that hit a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran during the opening wave of U.S.-Israeli attacks. Iranian officials say most of the dead were schoolgirls, and U.N. officials have since condemned the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law, though independent confirmation of the toll remains limited.
Casualty counts and conflicting figures
Iranian officials have issued shifting death tolls since the strike. The New York Times, citing health officials and state media, reported that at least 175 people were killed. Other Iranian officials have put the number higher.
Video and photographs verified by The Times show that at least half of the two-story building was destroyed. Rescue workers from the Iranian Red Crescent searched through debris alongside families. Desks are buried under rubble.
Schoolbooks and backpacks are scattered across the site. Other verified footage shows victims placed in body bags and rescue crews retrieving remains.
Iran’s Red Crescent chief, Pirhossein Kolivand, called the scale of the attack unprecedented. In a video posted to X, he said “no such crime has ever taken place in history to date, not even in Gaza.”
Location near IRGC facility
The school stands next to a naval base used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Satellite images reviewed by The Times show the building was part of the base in 2013 but was walled off by 2016 and converted into a school.
Other verified footage shows smoke rising from buildings inside the nearby base, indicating military facilities in the area were also struck.
It is not clear why the school building was hit. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in that specific area. The U.S. Defense Department did not address the school directly.
U.S. Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said the military was aware of reports of civilian harm and was reviewing them.
“We take these reports seriously,” he said. “The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimize the risk of unintended harm.”
International condemnation
UNESCO condemned the strike in a statement posted on X, calling the killing of pupils in a place dedicated to learning “a grave violation” of international humanitarian law.
Under international humanitarian law, schools are protected civilian sites. Even when located near military objectives, armed forces must take precautions to avoid or minimize civilian harm, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai condemned the strike, writing that the killing of civilians, especially children, is unconscionable and urging all parties to uphold their obligations to protect schools.
“My heart is with the children, families and communities affected by escalation across the region,” she wrote. “I stand firmly against violence and the targeting of schools and civilians. I call for the escalation of violence across the region to end. Justice and accountability must follow.”
The Minab strike was one of at least two attacks that appeared to hit educational facilities on Saturday. Local media and rights groups reported that a separate strike damaged a high school in Tehran, killing two students, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
The broader U.S.-Israeli campaign struck sites across multiple Iranian provinces. Iranian state media reported that more than 200 people were killed nationwide in the opening wave of attacks. Full casualty figures remain unsettled.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
