Over 100 Girls Feared Dead in US-Israeli Airstrike on Iranian School

Escalating Casualties Reported in US-Israeli Airstrike on Girls' School in Southern Iran

Arabic-language news networks are extensively covering a reported joint US-Israeli airstrike on a girls' primary school in Minab, located in Iran's southern Hormozgan province. According to قناة الجزيرة, IRNA (via Gaza Now), and the pro-resistance outlet Al Mayadeen, the strike hit the educational facility in broad daylight. The narrative across the provided Arabic channels—which universally exhibit strong anti-US and anti-Israel editorial stances—frames the event as a deliberate "massacre" (مجزرة) and "Zionist-American aggression" targeting children.

Skyrocketing Casualty Figures

Throughout the reporting period of February 23, 2026, casualty figures surged dramatically. Initial reports from Iranian state media cited 5 to 24 deaths, but the Iranian Ministry of Health soon confirmed 60 fatalities, noting an unknown number of students remained trapped under the rubble.

By the end of the day, the Public Prosecutor of Minab reported the death toll had reached 108, with channels like وكالة بغداد اليوم الاخبارية and الجزيرة فلسطين citing local governors pushing the number of fatalities up to 115 or 118. The Iranian Ministry of Education added that at least 86 students were killed across strikes on "three schools in the country," though the Minab primary facility remained the focal point of the media coverage.

Official Iranian Response and Retaliation Threats

Iranian officials characterized the strike as a targeted war crime. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted by نيمار ابن الانبار || iraqedu stating that the "destroyed building of a girls' primary school in southern Iran was bombed in broad daylight while it was crowded with little schoolgirls."

An unnamed Iranian official told Al Jazeera that "targeting a girls' school and killing civilians in Minab... was a deliberate act", warning that Iran would factor this attack into its retaliatory measures against Israeli interests. Concurrently, a CBS News intelligence report cited by تلفزيون سوريا and others alleged that "about 40 Iranian officials" were killed during the broader wave of US and Israeli strikes on the country.

Media Framing and Public Sentiment

The emotional weight of the event dominates the channel discussions, with graphic descriptions of "blood-stained school bags" shared by شبكة قدس الإخبارية and images of grieving parents circulated widely. Commentators in public chat groups, such as تعليقات متابعي غزة الآن 🇵🇸, expressed severe outrage, describing the attackers as "cowards" and "child killers," frequently drawing direct parallels between this strike and the ongoing civilian toll in Gaza. The overarching consensus across the network is total condemnation of the "American-Zionist" coalition.