US Missile Strike Hits School in Iran's Khomeyn, Civilian Safety Concerns Grow

A United States missile strike has reportedly hit an educational facility in the central Iranian city of Khomeyn, according to Al Jazeera, citing reports from Iran's Mehr News Agency.

The site has been identified as the Dr Hafez Khomeyni School. Local reports indicate that the blast caused significant damage to several residential properties in the vicinity of the building, though as of now there has been "no immediate report of casualties."

The incident follows mounting international pressure for a formal investigation into a previous US missile attack on a girls' school in the southern Iranian city of Minab. That strike resulted in a massacre that "killed at least 170 people, most of them young students."

Al Jazeera noted that these strikes on civilian infrastructure come amid an intensification of the conflict, as Tehran issues a defiant response to US President Donald Trump's claims regarding the conclusion of hostilities.

Amid the broader escalation in the region, UNICEF on Monday decried the rise in child casualties amid rising hostilities in Lebanon and called on all parties to protect civilians and infrastructure.

What did UNICEF Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder say about the toll of the Lebanon conflict on children?

It urged immediate efforts to de-escalate the situation and prevent further harm to children.

The statement by UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, highlighted how the continuous escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and the devastating toll it is taking on children are gravely concerning.

"In the last 28 months, 329 children have reportedly been killed in Lebanon and 1,632 were injured. In just the last six days, the number of children killed has increased by 25 per cent, with a devastating figure of 412 children killed,” it added.

Calling the figures staggering, Beigbeder said in the statement that they are a stark testament to the toll that conflict is taking on children.

"As military strikes continue across the country, children are being killed and injured at a horrifying rate, families are fleeing their homes in fear, and thousands of children are now sleeping in cold and overcrowded shelters,” Beigbeder said.

“Mass displacement across Lebanon has forced nearly 700,000 people - including around 200,000 children - from their homes, adding to the tens of thousands already uprooted from previous escalations,” he added.

Beigbeder concluded the statement by calling upon all parties to protect civilian and civilian infrastructure and gave a call to de-escalate the situation.

"UNICEF calls on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and shelters, and to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. UNICEF urges immediate efforts to de-escalate the situation and prevent further harm to children,” he said.

(With inputs from ANI)