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Senate Democrats letter to Hegseth on bombing of girl's school
Secretary Hegseth,
We write with grave concern regarding the airstrikes on a girls’ elementary school that reportedly killed at least 168 people – mostly children – in Minab, Iran during the opening salvo of U.S. and Israeli operations on Iran on February 28.1 To be clear, the war against Iran is a war of choice without
Congressional authorization. Nonetheless, as these military actions continue, the United States and Israel must abide by U.S. and international law, including the law of armed conflict. There must be a swift investigation into the strikes on this school and any other potential U.S. military actions causing civilian harm, and the findings must be released to the public as soon as possible, along with any measures to
pursue accountability.
The results of this school attack are horrific. The majority of those killed in the strikes were girls between the ages of 7 and 12 years old.2
Neither the United States nor the Israeli Government has yet taken responsibility for this attack. On March 4, you acknowledged that the United States was looking into the strikes at the school, saying "all I know, all I can say, is that we're investigating that," but shared no information about a timeline for review nor a commitment to accountability.3 A New York Times analysis of available evidence suggests that U.S. forces most likely struck the school amid attacks on an adjacent Iranian naval base, despite satellite imagery showing that the building had been walled off from the
military base and used as a school since at least 2016.4 And U.S. military investigators themselves reportedly believe that U.S. forces were likely responsible.
We write with grave concern regarding the airstrikes on a girls’ elementary school that reportedly killed at least 168 people – mostly children – in Minab, Iran during the opening salvo of U.S. and Israeli operations on Iran on February 28.1 To be clear, the war against Iran is a war of choice without
Congressional authorization. Nonetheless, as these military actions continue, the United States and Israel must abide by U.S. and international law, including the law of armed conflict. There must be a swift investigation into the strikes on this school and any other potential U.S. military actions causing civilian harm, and the findings must be released to the public as soon as possible, along with any measures to
pursue accountability.
The results of this school attack are horrific. The majority of those killed in the strikes were girls between the ages of 7 and 12 years old.2
Neither the United States nor the Israeli Government has yet taken responsibility for this attack. On March 4, you acknowledged that the United States was looking into the strikes at the school, saying "all I know, all I can say, is that we're investigating that," but shared no information about a timeline for review nor a commitment to accountability.3 A New York Times analysis of available evidence suggests that U.S. forces most likely struck the school amid attacks on an adjacent Iranian naval base, despite satellite imagery showing that the building had been walled off from the
military base and used as a school since at least 2016.4 And U.S. military investigators themselves reportedly believe that U.S. forces were likely responsible.
full letter here
https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_hegseth_on_minab_bombing_civcas_iran.pdf