The death toll from an airstrike on a girls' elementary school in Iran, believed to have been carried out by the United States and Israel, has risen to 148.
Rescue workers are removing concrete debris largely by hand from the half-collapsed school building. As children continue to be found dead, mothers searching for their daughters wail at the scene.
According to the Financial Times and other international media on Wednesday (local time), authorities in Minab, Iran, reported a preliminary death toll of 148 from the previous day's bombing at Shajareh Tayebeh Elementary School, with 95 others injured.
The girls' elementary school was struck during class at approximately 10:45 a.m. on April 28, shortly after U.S. and Israeli forces launched their attack on Iran. Local authorities estimated about 170 students were in class at the time. In Iran, Thursday and Friday are weekend holidays, making Saturday a school day. Iranian authorities had initially reported about 80 deaths at the scene, but the toll has risen significantly since.
Photos and videos released by Iranian local media and social media show the two- to three-story school building approximately half-destroyed by the airstrike. Local residents have gathered to conduct rescue operations, clearing concrete debris largely by hand, as more children continue to be found dead. Children's belongings including backpacks are scattered throughout the strike site. Videos shared on social media show mothers in the schoolyard crying out loudly, desperate to find their daughters.
The circumstances that led U.S. and Israeli forces to bomb a school attended by children remain unclear. The Washington Post analyzed satellite imagery and reported the school is located near what appears to be an Iranian military facility.
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, raised the incident at an emergency UN Security Council meeting on April 28, claiming the U.S. and Israeli attacks constitute not mere acts of aggression but war crimes. U.S. Central Command told the Washington Post it is "aware of reports of civilian casualties resulting from ongoing military operations" and is "taking these reports seriously and investigating."