Iran demands international action after attack on hospitals, schools | Israel-Iran conflict news

Officials in Tehran have called for international action and solidarity after several hospitals and schools were affected by United States and Israeli air strikes on the country as Iran continues to fire missiles and drones across the region.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ismail Baghai said on Monday that the two countries would “continue to strike indiscriminately in residential areas without sparing hospitals, schools, Red Crescent facilities or cultural monuments”.

“These actions constitute the deliberate commission of the most heinous crimes of international concern. Indifference to this ongoing and grave injustice further darkens the future of humanity by jeopardizing the shared values ​​on which our global community stands,” he posted on social media.

The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, wrote a letter to the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) late on Sunday, demanding a clear condemnation of attacks affecting children and educational and medical centers.

Monitoring and support mechanisms outlined in the Geneva Conventions should be invoked, he said, adding that the ICRC should “adopt immediate measures” to prevent similar incidents from happening again as the war escalates.

“The Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a member of the global Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, declares its full commitment to the fundamentals of humanity, impartiality and freedom, stressing that the damaged centers have no military applications,” Kollivand wrote.

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement at the start of the war on Saturday that the rules of war should be upheld as an obligation, not an option.

“Civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, homes and schools must be protected from attack. Medical personnel and first responders must be allowed to carry out their work safely,” he said.

Hospitals were damaged

Several hospitals in Iran have been damaged and evacuated by authorities as a result of the airstrikes, but no direct strikes on any hospitals are believed to have taken place yet.

In Tehran, Sunday’s major strikes damaged multiple medical centers located in two areas, according to official accounts, footage circulating on social media and information geolocated by Al Jazeera.

Videos broadcast by state media from the entrance and surrounding area of ​​Gandhi Hospital in northern Tehran showed significant damage after the projectile hit the nearby area.

Mohammad Raiszadeh, head of Iran’s medical council, told state media from the hospital on Monday that the in-vitro fertilization department was destroyed along with its equipment, forcing staff to move cells and embryos. Footage showed nurses moving the infant on Sunday night.

The hospital appears to have been damaged after the Israeli military hit buildings that house Iran’s state television’s Channel 2 and a nearby communications antenna.

Due to this, television programs in the state were disrupted for several minutes. The broadcaster confirmed that some of its departments were bombed on Sunday, without disclosing details.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said reports of damage to the hospital were “extremely worrying” and the United Nations agency was working to investigate the incident.

Following a separate attack on Sunday, the Iranian Red Crescent Society released a video showing the aftermath of the strike near its main building near Khatam al-Anbiya Hospital.

(Translation: Right now. Direct attacks by the Zionist regime and America near the Red Crescent Building, Khatam Al-Anbiya Hospital, Welfare Organization, and Motahari Hospital in Tehran)

Footage circulating online showed plumes of smoke rising and debris scattered after the strike. According to the Red Crescent, the ICRC’s Spoljarić visited the site of the damaged medical treatment facility on Monday and condemned any strikes that would affect humanitarian centers.

Khatam Al-Anbiya Hospital, Motahari Hospital, which specializes in helping burn victims, and Waliasar Hospital are all nearby. They reported that there was either little damage or patients had to be rushed out.

The main target hit by Israeli warplanes in the region was the Iranian police headquarters. Police Chief Ahmed-Reza Radan did not comment specifically on the targeting of the headquarters but confirmed that police buildings regularly receive direct hits.

On Monday afternoon, fighter jets again bombed Tehran. The attacks also damaged the main building of the provincial medical emergency services on Iranshahr Street in the downtown area. State-run Tasnim news agency said videos released by state-affiliated media showed staff being evacuated and several staff injured.

Abuzar Children’s Hospital in Ahvaz, western Iran, and three medical emergency centers in East Azerbaijan, Sistan-Baluchistan and Hamedan provinces were also damaged, according to Iranian officials.

As of Monday afternoon, at least 555 people had been killed after the attacks hit 131 counties across the country, the Iranian Red Crescent said.

During and after the killing of thousands of people during January’s nationwide protests, Iranian authorities have consistently rejected calls for transparency and condemnations from the UN and international human rights organizations, with state forces raiding hospitals to capture protesters and medical staff treating the wounded. Several doctors and medical staff remain in prison and face national security and other charges.

Schools, sports centers will be hit

In Tehran, officials reported that an airstrike targeting 72 Square in the eastern neighborhood of Narmuk damaged a high school and killed at least two children.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a popular former president who has a potential role in shaping Iran’s political future after the assassination of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials, was targeted, local media said. It is unclear whether Ahmadinejad was present at the scene of the attack or was injured.

Local officials said Saturday that multiple casualties occurred after a sports center was targeted in Lamard, in the southern province of Fars.

But the only major casualty incident announced by Iranian authorities occurred at a girls’ school in the southern city of Minab.

After two days of working through the rubble, officials found 165 people dead and 95 injured, most of them children. The governor released a handwritten list of the 56 victims Monday afternoon but did not provide further details.

The US said it was aware of reports of civilian casualties from the school and was investigating. The Israeli military said it was not aware of any Israeli or US strikes in the area.

Education International, a global federation of teachers and other education workers’ unions, condemned the school attack.

“Children, teachers and schools should never be military targets. Killing and injuring students and teachers is an intolerable violation of human rights and a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” it said.