On March 9, 2026, Israeli forces shelled the village of Qalaya in the Marjayoun district, killing the priest of the Christian parish, Father Pierre Al-Rai and injuring at least 4 of residents. The shelling hit a house located in the eastern part of the village, a Christian location considered relatively safe until now. The mayor of Qlayaa, Hanna Daher, stated that the inhabitants could not explain the reasons for the attack. “We don't know why our village was bombed. The target is unclear. Qlayaa is a safe locality”, the mayor said. “The affected house is located at the east end of the village. We first heard an explosion and then the inhabitants saw smoke rising from a house to the east. Everyone rushed to the place”. The mayor said rescuers found several injured people inside the building. “When we arrived we found that the house had been hit by an artillery shell and that there were injuries inside”, he explained. “While we were trying to evacuate people, a second bullet exploded in the house. We narrowly avoided a massacre, because there were many of us on site”. **Double Tap:** Lebanese news reports stated that an Israeli Merkava tank hit a house in Qlayaa twice. The first strike wounded the owner and his wife. Father al-Rahi and other neighbors rushed to the scene to help when the tank fired a second time. Father al-Rahi was wounded from the strike and later died from his injuries. 4 other Lebanese civilians were also injured in the attack. **A terror attack in respons of the earlier public statement of the priest:** Father Pierre al-Rahi, also known by his French name Pierre el-Raï, had earlier refused, along with other priests, to obey an order by the Israeli military to evacuate the Christian village of Qlayaa, a Maronite village of some 8,000 inhabitants in the Marjayoun district, a few miles from the Israeli border. “We are forced to stay despite the danger, when we defend our land, and we do so peacefully. None of us carries weapons. All of us carry peace and goodness and love,” Father al-Rahi told the France24 television channel on the steps of his church in Qlayaa March 8, a day before his death, while tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians have already fled their homes fearing further violence in the Marjayoun district. **Israeli Army spin:** On Tuesday, the IDF confirmed that tanks fired at suspected terrorists attempting to enter a house near where IDF soldiers were operating in southern Lebanon, but the military's statement did not directly link the incident with the shell fire that caused Raei's fatal injuries. **Qlayaa’s Mayor Hanna Daher statement to AsiaNews:** “They say there were fighters in the house, but that’s not true. These are lies, inside, there were only the residents of the house and people from the village who came to help the wounded.” **Pope Leo XIV statement:** Pope Leo XIV expressed “profound sorrow for all the victims of the bombings in the Middle East over the last few days — for the many innocent people, including many children, and for those who were providing them with aid, such as Father Pierre El-Rahi, a Maronite priest killed this afternoon in Qlayaa,” the Vatican’s Telegram channel said. The message posted by Holy See Press on Telegram said Pope Leo “is following the situation with concern and prays that all hostilities will cease as soon as possible.” **The French charity L’Oeuvre d’Orient statement:** “L’Oeuvre d’Orient condemns in the strongest possible terms these acts of war, which aim to destabilize all of Lebanon and kill innocent civilians. The death of a priest who refused to leave his parish is yet another escalation of senseless violence. L’Oeuvre d’Orient also denounces the risk of annexation and the disappearance of villages south of the Litani River, particularly historic Christian villages,” **David Azulay head of Metula settlement** Israeli Activist B.M. reports: *"The audacity: Four days after talking on Israeli radio about the need to "destroy and wipe out" South Lebanon, the head of Metula settlement, David Azulay, issues a statement of condolences, in Hebrew and Arabic, for Pierre al-Rahi, the Lebanese priest who was murdered by Israel on Monday. The village of Al-Qlayaa, where al-Rahi was murdered, is located 5 kilometers from Metula. Some Lebanese Christians originally from Al-Qlayaa, who used to be part of Israel's pre-2000 collaborator militia, the South Lebanon Army, now reside in Metula."* **Statement of Fr. Toufic Bou Merhi, Latin-rite parish priest in Tyre and Deirmimas:** Speaking to Vatican News, he said the 50-year-old Fr. El-Rahi was a true pastor for the Christians of his parish. Despite many Israeli evacuation orders for the area, Fr. El-Rahi remained to serve his parishioners. While the parish is mourning the death of Fr. El-Rahi and are now very afraid, even as the house of another priest was directly attacked: *“Up to now, people haven't wanted to leave their homes in Christian villages, but in this situation, everything has changed. Leaving home means living on the streets or trying to rent another place, but people can't afford it, especially given the country's already dire economic situation."* Other [source](https://www.lebanondebate.com/article/801170-القليعة-تنزف-استشهاد-كاهن-البلدة-بالقصف-الإسرائيلي)

On March 9, a few minutes after midnight, Israeli strikes hit tents sheltering displaced people in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in Al-Sawariha, central Gaza, killing three women, including a child and a journalist, and injuring more than 10 others. **Palestinian Center for Human rights investigation:** "According to information collected by PCHR’s field researchers, Israeli artillery positioned east of central Gaza Strip fired several shells between 00:00 and 00:05 on Monday, 9 March 2026. The shells landed in al-Sawahrah area, southwest of al-Nusseirat refugee camp, where the tents of displaced families are densely packed. As a result, Amal Hammad Ahmed Shamali (46), a journalist and Qatar Radio correspondent, was killed after a piece of shrapnel struck her head, causing a fatal laceration. Five other members of her family were also injured, including three in serious condition, when their tent was directly hit. This attack also resulted in the killing of Salsabeel Anwar Mahmoud Farraj (11), who was asleep in her tent when a piece of shrapnel struck her head. Two other members of her family were injured, including one who sustained serious injuries. Moreover, the attack killed Nour Saleh Mohammed al-Shalalfah (16) after she sustained a shrapnel wound to the head that caused a fatal laceration. Meanwhile, three other members of her family were injured, including two who sustained serious injuries. The shelling also injured several other people inside their tents in Abu Shammas Displacement Camp, in addition to causing severe damage to tents in the same location. Anwar Mahmoud Mohammed Farraj (36) told PCHR’s field researcher that he was sleeping with his wife and two children in their tent in Abu Shammas Displacement Camp, in the al-Sawahrah area, southwest of al-Nusseirat refugee camp, where they had been living for nearly two years. He stated that they heard two successive explosions in the area. As a result, his wife, Saloum ‘Abdel Rahman Mohammed Farraj (36), was injured by a piece of shrapnel in her hand, while their six-month-old child, Salamah, sustained a shrapnel wound to the head while sleeping in his mother’s arms. His 11-year-old daughter, Salsabeel, also sustained a severe laceration to the head caused by shrapnel. He added that shrapnel scattered throughout the camp and struck many tents, prompting distress calls across the area. The shelling resulted in the killing and injury of several people. He further stated that approximately an hour later, ambulances arrived at the scene, and his daughter Salsabeel was evacuated to al-‘Awda Hospital in al-Nusseirat refugee camp. Doctors there announced that she had died from her injuries, while his wife and son are still receiving treatment. Nesmah ‘Adnan Soliman Abu Shallouf (22) told PCHR’s field researcher that she heard about five successive explosions within five minutes, scattering shrapnel over the tents in the area. She added that seconds later she heard the screams of her 17-year-old brother, Mohammed, calling for help after his wife, Nour Saleh Mohammed al-Shalalfah (16), was wounded. The couple had been married for only about two months. A piece of shrapnel penetrated their tent and caused a severe laceration to her head, killing her. Moreover, the family of journalist Amal Hammad Ahmed Shamali stated that she was sleeping with her three children inside their tent when one of the shells landed near it, striking her in the head with shrapnel. The shell also injured her three children and other members of her family who were staying in nearby tents, while the tent was completely destroyed by the explosion." **Names of the martyrs:** 1) Amal Mohammed Shamali, 46, journalist 2) Nour Saleh Al-Shallafah, 30 3) Salsabeel Anwar Faraj, 12

On March 8, 2026, three Palestinians were killed and five others injured early Sunday during a brutal attack by Israeli colonists on the village of Abu Falah, east of Ramallah, followed by an Israeli military raid on the village. At 02:20, a group of settlers, protected by the occupation forces, attacked the village of Khirbet Abu Falah, and opened fire on the citizens, and the Israeli forces also intervened and fired live and rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas towards the citizens, which led to the death of 3 citizens (one of them as a result of inhaling tear gas), 4 others were injured. Local sources said the two Hamayel victims were killed while residents confronted colonists who attacked the village. Israeli forces later stormed the area and fired tear gas canisters to disperse residents responding to the attack. **Names of the martyrs:** 1) Thaer Awad Muhammad Ibrahim Hamayel, 24, 2) Farea Jawdat Hamayel, 57, both of whom were shot in the head. 3) Mohammad Hassein Marra, 55, who died after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli forces during the raid on the village. He reportedly arrived at the hospital in cardiac arrest. **Other casulaties:** According to medical sources, five other residents sustained live-fire injuries, including three in the head, one in the pelvis, and another in the shoulder with the bullet exiting from the neck. The 4 wounded as a result of gunfire by settlers while they were attacking the village of Khirbet Abu Falah are: Moaz Qassam Al-Khatib, Jihad Hamid Marra, Zaid Salim Turki Hamayel, and Fadi Hani Muhammad Nazzal.

On the afternoon of March 7, an Israeli settler known to local residents opened fire on Palestinians in Khirbet Wadi al-Rakheem in Masafer Yatta, killing Amir Mohammad Shanaran and critically injuring his brother. According to medical sources and local anti-settlement activist Osama Makhamreh, Amir Mohammad Shanaran (28) was shot in the neck and killed, while his brother Khaled Mohammad Shanaran (33) was shot with live ammunition and hospitalized in critical condition. Witnesses said the brothers were near their home when armed settlers from the illegal settlement of Susya opened fire on them. **Casualties:** Martyr: 1) Amir Mohammad Shanaran (28) Severly injured: 2) Khaled Mohammad Shanaran (33) During the same attack, several members of the Shanaran family were injured while attempting to confront the settlers. 1) The brothers’ father was severely beaten, suffering head injuries and bruises. 2) Their aunt sustained a fractured leg. 3) Their uncle and two cousins were also beaten, leaving them with multiple bruises. In total, five family members were hospitalized after severe physical assaults during the attack. **Israeli Army statement:** The Israeli military said the shooter was a reservist soldier who arrived after reports of clashes between settlers and Palestinians. Israeli Military Police said a preliminary investigation had found that the shooter was a reservist soldier who arrived on the scene after being alerted to the confrontations between Palestinians and settlers. According to the IDF, troops and police officers were dispatched to a Palestinian village in the Masafer Yatta area “following a report of a violent confrontation between Israeli civilians and several Palestinians, in which several individuals were injured.” Military police opened an investigation into the incident, the findings of which will be submitted to the Military Advocate General for review, the IDF said. The Israel Police also launched an investigation and collected findings at the scene. **Investigation of the Naboth's Vineyard @nabothVin org:** In the Palestinian village of Susya, last Saturday (7 March 2026), tragedy struck. Amir Muhammad Shanran was shot and killed, and his brother Khaled critically wounded. What happened that day is only the latest chapter in a story that began nearly 30 years ago : the perpetrators belong to the Luski family, settlers living in an illegal outpost at the archaeological site known as Ancient Susya. The outpost was established decades ago on land expropriated by the Israeli state in 1986. Although demolition orders were issued, they were never enforced. Over the years, the family received state support—including a mortgage from the WZO Settlement Division intended for carpentry and livestock—allowing them to expand their presence. Originally sheep farmers, the Luskis eventually moved into cattle ranching, building an illegal cowshed near their home. The herd routinely trespasses onto Palestinian fields, destroying crops. On Saturday, March 7, 2026, the Luki family drove their cattle more than a kilometer into Shanran farmland, sparking a confrontation. When the Shanaran brothers tried to drive the cows away, Luria Luski, armed with a weapon supplied by the Israeli army, opened fire. The video footage shows Amir lying motionless, while the cows continued grazing calmly nearby—a stark contrast to the violence unfolding. Violence runs in the family. Luria’s father, Gadi Luski, and brother, Shem Tov Luski, have long records of attacks on Palestinians, including incidents so severe they occasionally led to prosecution. Yet accountability remains rare. This killing is not an isolated event. In the same week, four other Palestinians were shot by settlers in nearby villages. Experience shows that perpetrators rarely face consequences—even when attacks are recorded on video. The IDF’s response to the Shanran killing illustrates how normalized such violence has become. Their statement described the shooter as “an IDF reservist who arrived following a report of an assault” and noted that two Palestinians were hit, with one dying from his wounds. In the West Bank today, under a government that often turns a blind eye, any Israeli holding a weapon has, in effect, a license to kill Palestinians. And in Susya, decades of state-backed settlement expansion and unchecked settler violence have made that deadly reality painfully clear. **Broader context:** According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers since the beginning of 2026, and 40 Palestinians have been killed by settlers since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023.

On March 7, 2026, an Israeli drone bombed a house in the center of Khan Younis, killing a man, Ahmed al-Qudra, and injuring his daughter in the center of the city of Khan Younis. She was treated in intensive care; Sources reported that the child, Julia Ahmed Muhammad Al-Qudra, was martyred a day after her father was martyred in an Israeli bombing of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Before that, a local source reported that Israeli artillery shelling targeted eastern Khan Younis, while occupation vehicles opened fire northeast of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. **Names of the martyrs:** Ahmed Muhammad al-Qudra (34 years old) killed on March 7 Julia Ahmed Muhammad Al-Qudra, (4 years old) succumbed on March 8

On the night of Friday, March 6, to Saturday, March 7, 2026, Israeli troops and helicopters conducted a commando operation near Nabi Sheet, reportedly searching for remains of the missing Israeli airman Ron Arad. Clashes with local fighters were reported during the operation, which included helicopter landings and intense airstrikes before Israeli forces withdrew. Their goal was the Al-Chokr family cemetery, in the heart of the Bekaa Valley. **Background on Ron Arad:** Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator, went missing over Lebanon in 1986 after his plane was shot down. Captured by Lebanese militias, his fate remains unknown, and Israel has carried out multiple operations over the decades to locate him or recover his remains. He is officially considered Missing in Action (MIA). **Details of the Operation:** Four Israeli helicopters were spotted over Khraibeh-Baalbek at 10:50 pm, near the Syrian-Lebanese border. Two Israeli helicopters landed near Nabi Chit and Khraibeh, dropping soldiers who moved toward a cemetery in Nabi Chit to search a grave suspected of holding Arad’s remains while intense airstrikes hit nearby villages. The Israeli soldiers briefly searched a section of the Al-Chokr family cemetery before clashes broke out with local residents and Hezbollah fighters. Witnesses noted that the Israeli soldiers used vehicles resembling Lebanese army and Hezbollah vehicles and spoke Arabic with a Lebanese accent (crime of perfidy). **Impact of Airstrikes:** Hezbollah sources stated the Israeli Air Force carried out 40–50 airstrikes, including one targeting the central square of Nabi Chit to prevent reinforcements from intervening. The operation included heavy bombardment and multiple air raids, severely affecting infrastructure in Nabi Sheet The bombardment left a massive crater, gutted buildings, and damaged vehicles. Portraits of "martyrs" from the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah conflict remain on some buildings. **Casualties:** The fighting reportedly left three Lebanese soldiers and 41 residents of the Bekaa Valley dead, according to the Lebanese army and Ministry of Health. No Israeli casualties were reported.

On MARCH 4, 2026, at least nine people were killed and 15 others wounded on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek; Israeli warplanes struck a multi-story residential building housing six families. Most of the structure was reduced to rubble, while a remaining section was left heavily damaged and on the verge of collapse. Rescue teams continued searching for survivors beneath the debris.

On March 2, 2026, around 12:00, a settler entered an olive grove and began work to open an unauthorized access road on privately owned Palestinian land. Residents went down to drive him away, reportedly by throwing stones, according to a security source. Live fire was then opened toward the Palestinians. Video documentation shows a settler carrying a long firearm aiming his weapon toward a Palestinian residential home, accompanied by several young settlers; the footage does not indicate that their lives were under threat. Evidence collected by police at the scene later indicated that the shooter was not a civilian but a regional defense soldier. Three otherswere wounded by the gunfire, including a third brother. It should be noted that West Bank villages are currently under full closure since March 1 (Israeli-US war on Iran), and ambulance passage through checkpoints requires prior coordination. According to reports, Israeli army forces who arrived after the shooting used crowd-control measures against Palestinians and began making arrests. Eyewitnesses reported the military arrested more than 20 Palestinians in the village. Because of the closure Israel has imposed on the West Bank, ambulances were unable to reach and evacuate the wounded for over an hour. The detainees were released only later, once details of the incident became clear. After the deaths of the two brothers who had attempted to defend the grove were confirmed, heavy engineering machinery returned to the site. The excavator was later confiscated by Israeli army forces. **Casulaties :** According to the Red Crescent, five people were shot: 1) Two Palestinian brothers, Mohammed Taha Maamar (52), who was shot in the head, 2) and Fahim Taha Maamar (48), who was shot in the pelvis, were killed by Israeli settler gunfire when in their house. Resuscitation efforts were carried out, but in vain. 3) a 30-year-old man was shot in the shoulder, 4) a 32-year-old man was shot in the thigh, 5) a 15-year-old boy was shot in the shoulder. The deaths of two of the wounded men, who were brothers, were confirmed shortly afterward. **Names of the martyrs:** Mohammad Taha Mo’amar, 52 Faheem Taha Mo’amar, 48 **Israeli Army investigation:** The IDF said Tuesday that it was investigating that incident as well, probing an IDF reservist suspected of committing the shooting. Israeli forces also dismantled an illegal Jewish outpost near Qaryut overnight Wednesday-Thursday, citing “violent incidents” that had originated in the area. The reservist suspected in the Qaryut shooting is a member of one of the IDF’s so-called area defense forces, known by the Hebrew acronym Hagmar. Dozens of soldiers from such units, which comprise local settlers serving in reserve duty, have been dismissed for violations, including attacks on Palestinians. **Investigation of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights:** "According to information gathered by PCHR and eyewitness accounts, at around 12:00 on Monday, 02 March 2026, four settlers, including the guard of Shilo settlement established on the lands of Qaryout village, southeast of Nablus, headed towards Taha Mount, south of the village, accompanied by an excavator. The excavator began working on a plot of land belonging to Nour Freiz ‘Azem. When several Palestinian residents approached to see what the settlers were doing, the settlement’s guard and another settler with a gun advanced towards them and attempted to arrest Nabil Jamil Abu Morah, a resident of the area. His sons—Mohammed, Fahim, and Jamil—intervened to prevent his arrest. The settlement’s guard then opened fire to intimidate the residents, threatened them and photographed them with his mobile phone. Around five minutes later, the guard returned with more than 50 settlers, who began throwing stones at Mohammed Nabil Abu Morah (52) and damaging his property. Mohammed and his brothers, supported by their neighbors, confronted the settlers by throwing stones in response. The settlement’s guard and another settler took cover behind an olive tree about 20 meters away and opened fire at Mohammed, shooting him in the head. His brother Fahim (48) was also shot in the pelvis. Their brother Jamil attempted to evacuate them with the assistance of neighbors and placed them in a civilian vehicle to transport them to Qablan Clinic. During the continued settlers’ attack, Jamil was struck by two bullets in his right leg. All three were transferred to Qablan Clinic and later referred to Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus. Two other Palestinians, including a child, were also wounded in their limbs after the armed settler accompanying the settlement’s guard opened fire at them. At approximately 13:20, medical personnel at Rafidia Governmental Hospital declared the deaths of Mohammed and Fahim after they succumbed to their wounds"

On the evening of 28 February 2026, Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Dura, south of Hebron, firing live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas at residents, reportedly under the pretext that stones had been thrown at them. During the operation, a Palestinian civilian was shot and critically wounded. Muhammad Jihad Masalmah, 25, was struck by live fire in the abdomen while leaving a mosque after performing Tarawih prayers. He was immediately transferred to hospital, where his condition was described as extremely critical. Footage published by yaffa_ps shows Israeli soldiers surrounding and roughly handling an injured young Palestinian man on the ground. A soldier was seen kicking the wounded Palestinian as he bleeds before ambulance transfert him to the Hospital. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Sunday, 1th of March, that Masalmah died from his wounds sustained during the raid. His death was confirmed the morning following the incursion. Masalmah’s funeral is scheduled to take place in the afternoon, with his body departing from Al-Ahli Hospital before burial in his hometown of Dura. **The Name of the martyr:** Muhammad Jihad Masalmah, 25 years old

On February 28, 2026, at 10:45 a.m., the first day of the Israel-USA attack on Iran, the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, was struck by a missile during morning classes while approximately 170 students were inside the building. The impact reduced the school to rubble, trapping many children beneath collapsed concrete structures. Local residents reportedly began rescue efforts immediately, digging through debris with their bare hands as parents searched the ruins calling out their children’s names. According to the public prosecutor’s office in Minab, at least 108 people were killed, many of them schoolgirls between seven and twelve years old. A spokesperson for the Iranian Red Crescent Society later confirmed a final death toll of 108 schoolgirls, representing more than half of the students enrolled at the school. Dozens of victims were initially reported missing following the strike. Videos circulating on social media and described as showing the immediate aftermath depict smoke rising from burned walls, debris scattered across nearby roads, and large crowds gathered at the scene in visible distress, with screams audible in the background. The Guardian reported that the footage and casualty figures could not immediately be independently verified. However, the Persian fact-checking organization Factnameh cross-referenced the video with known photographs of the school site and concluded that the footage was authentic, while Reuters also verified that the video originated from the school location. Responsibility for the strike remains unclear. A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that authorities were “looking into” the reports. The school is reported to be located adjacent to a Revolutionary Guards barracks, a factor that has raised questions regarding possible targeting considerations. Hossein Kermanpour, spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, described the bombing on X as “the most bitter news” of the conflict so far, adding: “God knows how many more children’s bodies they will pull from under the rubble.” Speaking to Drop Site, Shariatmadar stated: “I cannot understand how a place where innocent children learn can be bombed like this. We are talking about small children who knew nothing of politics or wars. And yet they are the ones paying the highest price.” The strike would constitute the largest mass-casualty event of the U.S.-led attack to date and the deadliest attack on a school by bomboing or shelling in the XXe and XXIe centuries. **Geolocation** : next to Resalat Boulevard, Minab, #Iran 27.109834, 57.084748 The school appears to be adjacent (600m) to a Revolutionary Guards barracks. This proximity is used in the pro-Isreaeli propaganda to explained the airstrikes. **On March 1**, The Guardian reports that the Israeli-Us "strike on girls’ elementary school in south of Iran has killed 148 people and injured 95 others, according to Iran state media" **Statement of Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesperson for US Central Command:** The US was “aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them.” **Official Responses**: US and Israeli officials said they were unaware a school had been hit event if investigation evidence disputes these claims. **Nobel Peace Prize Malala Yousafzai statement: ** *“They were girls who went to school to learn, with hopes and dreams for their future. Today, their lives were brutally cut short. Justice and accountability must follow. All states and parties must uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians and safeguard schools.”* **On March 3, 2026**, State media showed hundreds packing the streets of the southern city of Minab to mourn scores ⁠of girls killed in the bombing of a girls' school on the war's first day, by far the worst of several reported attacks to hit civilian targets. The girls' small coffins, draped with Iranian flags, were passed from a truck and borne by the crowd across a sea of upraised hands towards the grave site. The U.N. human rights office demanded an investigation into the strike, which its spokesperson called "absolutely horrific". **Legal & Human Rights Assessment:** Human rights monitors called the bombing a possible serious violation of international humanitarian law. Children and teachers are legally classified as protected persons in armed conflict. **Investigation piece of Al Jazeera:** Key Investigation Findings : Satellite imagery and video analysis show the school was directly struck, not damaged accidentally and two separate missile impacts were identified: one on a nearby military base, another one on the school itself. This contradicts claims that damage came from debris or secondary explosions. The school had been physically separated from the adjacent military complex since 2016. It had an independent walls, several civilian entrances, playgrounds and school facilities. It functioned as a civilian primary school for at least 10 years. Under international humanitarian law, it therefore remained a protected civilian site, even though many students were children of military personnel. Some pro-Israeli accounts claimed the site was part of an IRGC military base, but critical contradiction highlighted that the missiles hit the military base, and the school, but avoided a civilian clinic located between them that opened in 2025. This suggests attackers had accurate, updated targeting information, raising questions about Serious intelligence failure, or deliberate targeting of the school. The attackers’ ability to spare newly established adjacent facilities (such as the Martyr Absalan clinic) and their glaring failure to avoid an elementary school operating at full capacity and packed with 170 girls leaves us with two scenarios, So, the evidence leaves two possible explanations, both unequivocally condemnatory: Either US and Israeli forces relied, in striking the vicinity of the Asif Brigade, on a very old, outdated intelligence target bank (dating to before 2013), which would constitute grave negligence and reckless disregard for civilian lives; or the strike was carried out deliberately and with prior knowledge to inflict maximum societal shock and undermine popular support for Iran’s military establishment. Even if this school operated as an educational institution serving families (including military families), legal classification remained civilian. At least, reverse-image searches disproved claims that destruction came from a failed Iranian missile, the viral images was traced to a different city (Zanjan). **Investigation by Nilo Tabrizy,** (author and investigative journalist who has worked extensively with open-source material to report on Iran for The Washington Post and The New York Times) About who carried out the strike. "Weapon fragments or visuals showing the exact moment of impact can often provide clues as to the type of munition used, thus revealing the country responsible. Without them, the question remains open. Information wars over this strike began quickly. Some accounts, aligned with the camp that supports the restoration of Iran’s monarchy and installing the son of the last shah, Reza Pahlavi, began confidently asserting that it was a failed rocket launch by the IRGC from the nearby base. This narrative began spreading alongside an image that posters claimed was the missile launch. This was quickly debunked by Ali Noorani on X, who confirmed that this image was actually from the town of Zanjan, roughly 800 miles away from Minab. In addition, the image that was central to the failed missile claim showed snowcapped mountains, which would not be visible in the southern town of Minab. The following day, on March 1, more pro-Pahlavi accounts then claimed that the IRGC had confessed to mistakenly bombing the school. The claim was made through a screenshot that people online said came from official Iranian state channels. But this too was debunked, this time by Jasper Nathaniel, who confirmed that the dubious assertion was posted on a Telegram channel supportive of the monarchy. A source told me that this tragic airstrike was perhaps an error on the part of the U.S. and Israel. The school is located right next to an IRGC navy base, but it’s hard to miss the brightly colored walls of the school that were visible on Google Earth as far back as eight years ago." **Weapon used:** The area was targeted by several missiles, with at least eight buildings or locations impacted. One of the videos released on March 8 shows a Tomahawk missile—a weapon used only by the United States in this conflict—striking the site after the school had already been bombed. This provides an indication of who may have been responsible for targeting the school, suggesting the strike could have been carried out by the United States rather than Israel. [https://www.bellingcat.com/app/uploads/2026/03/Planet-Labs.jpg](https://www.bellingcat.com/app/uploads/2026/03/Planet-Labs.jpg) Asked by a reporter from The Times on Saturday, March 8, if the United States had bombed the school, President Trump said: “No. In my opinion and based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.” He said, “They’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was standing beside Mr. Trump, said the Pentagon was investigating, “but the only side that targets civilians is Iran.” **On March 10,** Photos posted by Iranian state media show debris from the Feb. 28 Minab strike, bearing serial numbers and components consistent with a U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile, potentially linking the deadly school and naval base attack to American precision-guided munitions.U.S. Tomahawk Evidence. Key components include: SDL Antenna (satellite data link) stamped with a 2014 Department of Defense contract number and manufacturer Ball Aerospace Technologies, now part of BAE Systems. Another component stamped “Made in USA”, produced by Globe Motors, Ohio, responsible for actuator motors controlling guidance fins. Trevor Ball, former U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal technician and Bellingcat researcher, confirmed these parts match Tomahawk missile components previously documented in Yemen and Syria. Open-source databases corroborate these findings, showing identical remnants in prior conflicts.  **Double tap:** On March 4, a Middle East Eye investigation on the ground, gathering the testimonies of the victims conclued that The girls’ school in Iran, where 165 people were killed by an apparent US-Israeli attack, was hit with two strikes, with the second missile killing sheltering survivors, two first responders and the parent of a slain child have told Middle East Eye. “When the first bomb hit the school, one of the teachers and the principal moved a group of students to the prayer hall to protect them,” one of the Red Crescent medics said, citing conversations he had at the time with survivors. “The principal called the parents and told them to come and pick up their children. But the second bomb hit that area as well. Only a small number of those who had taken shelter survived.” **On March 8, a Bellincat investigation, checked by the visual team of the New York Times,** showed that one of the weapons used during the strike of the area is a Tomahawk. "A newly released video adds to the evidence that an American missile likely hit an Iranian elementary school where 175 people, many of them children, were reported killed. The video, uploaded on Sunday by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency shows a Tomahawk cruise missile striking a naval base beside the school in the town of Minab on Feb. 28. The U.S. military is the only force involved in the conflict that uses Tomahawk missiles. A body of evidence assembled by The Times — including satellite imagery, social media posts and other verified videos — indicates that the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building was severely damaged by a precision strike that occurred at the same time as attacks on the naval base. The base is operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps".