In what has become one of the defining atrocities of the US-Israeli war on Iran, an Israeli airstrike struck an elementary girls’ school in the city of Minab on February 28, 2026, killing at least 51 children, according to Iranian authorities.
The attack occurred during the opening hours of the coordinated US-Israeli military campaign against Iran. Minab, a city of approximately 80,000 people in Hormozgan Province in southern Iran, had no known military installations in the immediate vicinity of the school.
The Strike
The school was reportedly in session when the strike hit. According to accounts from local officials, the building sustained a direct hit, collapsing the main structure and trapping students and staff beneath the rubble.
Rescue workers arrived to scenes described as devastating. Photographs and videos shared on Iranian state media showed emergency teams working through concrete debris while small backpacks and school supplies lay scattered across the site.
Iranian authorities stated that 51 children were confirmed dead, with the toll expected to rise as rescue teams continued to search through the rubble. The victims were all girls between the approximate ages of 6 and 12. Several teachers and school staff were also reported among the casualties.
Aftermath and Identification
In the days following the strike, families gathered at hospitals and makeshift morgues in Minab to identify the remains of their children. Iranian media documented scenes of parents arriving with photographs of their daughters, hoping against available evidence for survivors.
By March 13 — two weeks after the attack — the confirmed death toll at the Minab school had been incorporated into broader casualty figures. According to Iranian health authorities, 168 children had been killed across the country since the war began, with the Minab school accounting for the majority.
Context: Day 1 Civilian Toll
The Minab school was not the only civilian site struck on the first day of the war. In Tehran, at least two students were killed when a strike hit an area near University Street and the Jomhouri area in east Tehran. Reports also indicated damage to residential neighborhoods across multiple Iranian cities.
The broader civilian toll from February 28 attacks included strikes on Isfahan, Kermanshah, Qom, Tabriz, Ilam, Karaj, Lorestan, Zanjan, Urmia, Bushehr, Damavand, and Shiraz — many of which are populated urban centers with limited military infrastructure.
International Response
The Minab school attack drew immediate and widespread condemnation from international organizations. The United Nations called for an independent investigation into the strike, noting that attacks on schools are prohibited under international humanitarian law.
Human rights organizations documented the incident as part of broader concerns about the targeting of civilian infrastructure during the opening phase of the campaign. Several nations called for restraint, though Western governments largely declined to comment specifically on the Minab strike.
Iran’s government cited the attack as evidence of what it described as deliberate targeting of civilian populations. President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the strike demonstrated the “true nature” of the US-Israeli operation and called the killing of children “an unforgivable crime.”
The Children
The 51 children killed at the Minab girls’ school represented the single deadliest incident involving children in the conflict. Their ages, according to Iranian officials, ranged from approximately 6 to 12 years old. They were attending a regular school day when the strike occurred.
As of March 13, the cumulative civilian toll across Iran stood at 1,444 killed — including 168 children and 200 women — and 18,551 injured. Victims ranged in age from 8 months to 88 years, according to Iranian health authorities.
Among the dead were also 11 healthcare workers, including four physicians, two nurses, and three emergency responders. An additional 55 healthcare workers were reported wounded.
Legal Implications
International legal experts noted that the strike on an active school raises serious questions under the laws of armed conflict. The Fourth Geneva Convention specifically protects civilian objects, including schools, from attack unless they are being used for military purposes — a claim neither the United States nor Israel has made regarding the Minab school.
The International Criminal Court has previously investigated and prosecuted cases involving attacks on schools during armed conflicts. Whether the Minab attack will be subject to formal legal proceedings remains to be seen, though Iranian authorities have stated they intend to pursue international legal action.
The children of Minab have become a symbol of the human cost of the war — their names, ages, and school photographs circulated widely across social media and news outlets, serving as a stark reminder that in modern warfare, the youngest are often the most vulnerable.