Investigation Reveals US and Israel Deliberately Bombed Iranian Primary School, Killing Hundreds of Students
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MINAB — Al Jazeera’s investigation reveals shocking facts behind the United States and Israel air strikes that hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in the city of Minab, Hormozgan, on Saturday (28 February 2026). The latest figures show the death toll has surged to 165, the majority of whom are girls aged between 7 and 12.
The Al Jazeera digital investigative report, which analysed satellite imagery over the past decade, disputes the unilateral claims by the Pentagon and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) that there was no civilian facility at the site. Satellite image analysis shows that the school building has been architecturally and administratively separated from the nearby military base for more than ten years.
The investigation, traced through historical data using Google Earth since 2016, shows that the school’s area has been enclosed by a permanent wall separating it from the Sayyid al-Shuhada Military Complex (headquarters of the Asif Brigade Missile). Two military watchtowers have been dismantled, and three external gates opened directly onto the public street to access pupils, kept well away from the military checkpoint.
“Visual analysis shows a highly precise attack pattern. Guided missiles struck the military base and the school building separately, yet miraculously bypassed the Syahid Absalan Specialised Clinic located exactly between them,” the investigative report states.
The fact that the attackers could avoid the clinic, which was inaugurated just over a year ago, yet struck the school which had stood for ten years, strengthens suspicions of deliberate intent or a fatal intelligence failure.
Disinformation efforts
A social media account affiliated with Israel attempted to spread a narrative that the school’s damage was due to Iran’s air defence missile failure. They circulated a photo of snow-capped mountains claimed to be the site of the missile’s fall in Minab.
However, reverse image verification showed the photo was taken in Zanjan, northern Iran, about 1,300 km from Minab. As a tropical coastal city, Minab has no snow, which automatically undermines the misinformation campaign.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor condemned the bombing as a “horrific crime.” They stressed that the presence of a military facility near a settlement does not erase the civilian status of a school. Under international humanitarian law, children and teaching staff are “protected persons” in any circumstances.
Representative of the Iran Teachers’ Union Coordinating Council, Shiva Amilairad, reported that the interval between the warning and the missile strike was too short for evacuation. “Hospital mortuary capacity has been exhausted, forcing authorities to use refrigerated trucks to store the bodies of these children,” she said in a tearful tone.