All-Girls Elementary School Bombed in Iran by US-Israeli Missiles

BY: CARESSE LIANG / CO-NEWS EDITOR

The aftermath of the Israeli strike on the school in Minab, Iran. Dozens search for bodies trapped underneath the wreckage.  (PHOTO CREDIT: AL JAZEERA)

On Feb. 28th, numerous coordinated US-Israeli missiles struck the “Shajareh Tayyebeh”, or “The Good Tree,” all-girls elementary school in the city of Minab in Southern Iran. The three airstrikes hit and killed approximately 168 people; many of them were children, stuck in between the rubble and damage caused by the strikes. 

There were three strikes launched at separate increments towards the school. The first strike landed directly at the site, crumbling the two-story structure and burying people underneath the debris. 

Amidst the process of recovery and relocation, a second, “double-tap” strike followed through and hit sheltered survivors. As parents scrambled to find their missing children hidden under the wreckage, a final strike hit the same location, ultimately finalizing the death toll to nearly 168 people. 

The number of casualties not only included students, but also several parents and school staff. According to the Guardian, “Due to the limited capacity of the hospital morgue, refrigerated vehicles have reportedly been used to store the bodies of the victims.”

Dozens of civilians rush to rescue children underneath the rubble. (PHOTO CREDIT: NBC NEWS.)

“When the first bomb hit the school, one of the teachers and the principal moved a group of students to the prayer hall to protect them,” a Red Crescent—a branch of the Red Cross—responder commented, “But the second bomb hit that area as well. Only a small number of those who had taken shelter survived.”

According to the Iranian Education Ministry, about 20 education centers have been “either damaged or fully destroyed” since the start of the US-Israel War on Iran. President Donald Trump intends to use “major combat operations” to target Iranian military and government strikes—in conjunction with Israel.

Satellite footage from above, detailing the separation between the school, clinics, and the Sayyid al-Shuhada complex. The school had its own walls and gates. (PHOTO CREDIT: AL JAZEERA.)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on the attack, citing that U.S. forces “would not deliberately target a school.” 

On the other hand, Trump has accused Iran of bombing the school instead. “In my opinion and based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.” With the uprising of both AI and numerous social media claims linked with the two countries, other news sites came forward with camera and satellite imagery to debunk their claims.

Several photographs have debunked the claims that the bombing was old footage and that it was a misfired IRGC missile, based on distance and cross-matching environments.

It was observed that the school was near a “Seyyed al-Shohada,” an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound. That does not make it substantial enough to make it a direct target for three missiles, let alone the 10-year separation away from the compound. 

The missiles directly hit the school and the military compound, using artificial intelligence imagery. They bypassed the clinic—a building that was established a year prior—and left it intact. 

As the discussion on whether this attack was intentional continues, the onslaught on Iranian soil pushes through—now with approximately 1,300 Iranian civilian deaths and thousands wounded.

Two women grieving next to each other after the attack on the all-girls elementary school in the city of Minab. (PHOTO CREDIT: AL JAZEERA.)

According to Al Jazeera, “52 health centres, 18 emergency services locations and 15 ambulances also have been damaged or destroyed.”

These actions call for humanitarian aid and response. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, publicly expressed its deep concern about the rising number of casualties coming from Iran. 

“The killing of pupils in a place dedicated to learning constitutes a grave violation of the protection afforded to schools under international humanitarian law,” said UNESCO.

Iran’s UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, told reporters that the school was “deliberately destroyed” in US-Israeli attacks against the country. “As a result, 165 innocent schoolgirls were martyred. I repeat it. 165 schoolgirls martyred,” he said.

The decision to invoke such violence on innocent soil is reprehensible. It is important to recognize that thousands of civilians are forcibly being displaced and killed in this war, and that they need to be seen beyond the inches of land that they are constantly running from.

An elementary school, a place to nurture and grow a new generation of promising students, should never be a target for missiles designed to fight world-ending threats. And now, families are fighting for refuge and respite. 

Victims deserve to be heard and given a sliver of hope against the silence.