Israeli airstrikes killed at least 51 people in two separate school attacks in Iran
One strike hit a girls' school in Minab, southern Iran, while another targeted a school east of Tehran
The attacks occurred amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran
Iran is expected to frame the strikes as violations of international law
The civilian casualties contradict claims that only military targets are being hit
📖 Full Retelling
Israeli forces conducted airstrikes on two educational facilities in Iran on February 28, 2026, killing at least 51 people when a girls' school in Minab, southern Iran, was struck, with another school east of Tehran also targeted amid escalating tensions between the two nations. According to Iran's Mehr news agency, the attack on the girls' school in Hormozgan province resulted in dozens of fatalities, while a separate strike east of the capital claimed the lives of at least two students. Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall highlighted the significance of targeting civilian facilities, noting that such strikes contradict claims by American and Israeli officials that they are only targeting military objectives while aiming to punish the Iranian regime rather than its people. The mounting civilian casualties present a complex situation that Iran's government is expected to present as violations of international law and acts of aggression against the Iranian population, despite President Trump's previous assurances that aid and assistance would be forthcoming to the Iranian people.
🏷️ Themes
Civilian casualties, International law violations, Israel-Iran conflict
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of rules, norms, legal customs and standards that states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generally do, obey in their mutual relations. In international relations, actors are simply the individual...
Civilians killed, injured, or imprisoned by non-civilians
A civilian casualty occurs when a civilian is killed or injured by non-civilians, mostly law enforcement officers, military personnel, rebel group forces, or terrorists. Under the law of war, it refers to civilians who perish or suffer wounds as a result of wartime acts. The term is generally applie...
A school shooting is an armed attack at an educational institution, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple casualties. The phenomenon is mostly widespread in the United States, which has the highest number of school-related shooti...
Hormozgan province (Persian: استان هرمزگان) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Bandar Abbas.
The province is in the south of the country, in Iran's Region 2 facing Oman, the United Arab Emirates and the Hormuz Straits.
News | Israel-Iran conflict Israel strikes two schools in Iran, killing more than 50 people State media says Israeli attack on girls’ school in the city of Minab in the south of the country kills dozens. Listen to this article | 1 min By Al Jazeera Staff Published On 28 Feb 2026 28 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media Share Save Add Al Jazeera on Google An Israeli strike has hit an elementary girls’ school in Minab, a city in the Hormozgan province of southern Iran, killing at least 51 people, state media reported, as the immediate civilian cost from Israel and the United States’ huge bombardment of Iran comes into sharper focus. Iran’s Mehr news agency also reported that at least two students were killed by an Israeli attack that hit a school east of the capital, Tehran. Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Vall said of the attack on the girls’ school, “There are new reports confirming the number of people killed in that strike has now gone above 40. That’s a civilian target, and that’s one of the targets that might really become problematic with regards to this campaign by the Americans and the Israelis, who are saying that they are targeting only military targets and they are trying to punish the regime, not the people of Iran. “President Trump has promised the Iranian people that aid or help is coming their way, but now we are seeing civilian casualties; that’s something that the Iranian government will stress as a case of violation of international law and an aggression against the Iranian people, ” he added. According to Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education, thousands of civilians were killed or injured, and public infrastructure was damaged, during the US-Israel 12-day war in June 2025.
