Death Toll Continues to Rise Following US-Israeli Attack on Iranian Girls' School: 57 Martyrs, 53 Buried Under Rubble
An Israeli airstrike has struck Shajareye Tayabeh, a girls’ primary school in Minab, a city in Hormozgan Province in southern Iran. Casualties are reported to be mounting.
Iran’s news agency IRNA reported that the Israeli attack on the girls’ school in Minab, Hormozgan Province, has killed at least 57 students and wounded 60 others.
Mohammad Radmehr, Governor of Minab Province, confirmed to IRNA on Saturday that Shajareye Tayabeh school had been directly targeted and several of its students were killed. Approximately 170 female students were studying when the strike occurred.
Radmehr also stated that 53 students remain trapped under the rubble. He said rescue and assistance operations were underway at the school and added that the security situation in the city was under control.
The United States and the Israeli regime launched joint military aggression against Iran on Saturday morning. Iran’s armed forces subsequently launched a large-scale retaliatory strike, targeting Israeli-occupied territories and US military bases throughout the region with ballistic missiles and drones.
The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, with explosions heard and seen across Tehran on Saturday morning. Several missiles struck University Street and the Jomhouri district in Tehran, according to the Fars news agency.
US President Donald Trump said the joint US-Israeli strike against Iran aimed to eliminate a genuine threat posed by the Iranian regime. The Iranian government is assessed to endanger the American people.
“Recently, the US military launched major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating the threat from the Iranian regime,” he stated. Tel Aviv characterised the military operation as a preliminary strike against Iran.
Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim reported that explosions also occurred in the Seyyed Khandan area north of Tehran. Other Iranian media cited strikes across the country, including in western Ilam Province. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed that Israel launched a missile strike to “eliminate the threat to the State of Israel”.
A US official told Al Jazeera that the strike was carried out as a joint military operation between Israel and the United States. The country had assembled a large fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region in an attempt to pressure Iran to reach an agreement concerning its nuclear programme.
The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier, fighter jets, guided-missile destroyers, and other capabilities to the Middle East in recent weeks.