• Israeli military says ‘unaware of the attack’
• US claims strike reports being looked into
• Malala urges all states, parties to ‘safeguard schools’

PARIS: The death toll from the Israeli strikes that hit a girls’ school in southern Iran surged to 148, with nearly 100 others wounded, Al Jazeera reported.

While Iranian officials claimed the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in the Minab city killed more than 100 people, neither the United States nor Israel confirmed that any such attack has taken place.

Israel’s military on Sunday said it was “not aware” of any US or Israeli strike on any school in Iran.

When asked about the strikes on school, Israel’s military spokesman Lt-Col Nadav Shoshani said, “At this point not aware of an Israeli or an American strike there… We’re operating in an extremely accurate manner.”

However, The New York Times later quoted a CENTCOM spokesperson as saying: “We are aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them.”

“The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimise the risk of unintended harm.”

Video and photographs from the aftermath of the strike, which have been verified as authentic and geo-located to the site, show hundreds of people gathered around the partially collapsed, smoking building, with rubble strewn across the street and men digging through it for victims. Screams can be heard in the background. In some of the images, schoolbags and textbooks are being pulled from the debris.

Norway-based rights group Hengaw said the Shajare Tayyebeh school was holding its morning session at the time of the incident, which reportedly had about 170 students present.

The Nobel peace prize laureate and girls’ education advocate, Malala Yousafzai, said in a 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.”

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2026