The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that they carried out attacks on the Iranian capital Tehran, as well as on the Lebanese capital Beirut.
“The IDF is currently carrying out simultaneous targeted attacks on military targets in Tehran and Beirut,” the Israel Defense Forces spokesman said in a statement, adding that “a wave of large-scale airstrikes” is underway.
The attacks came about an hour after the IDF issued an “urgent warning” to people in Beirut’s southern suburbs and in dozens of villages, urging them to evacuate. The IDF said they targeted command centers and warehouses belonging to Hezbollah. The statement said that people should stay away from buildings associated with Hezbollah and that anyone near them is at risk.
As the warning was issued, thick plumes of black smoke could be seen rising into the early morning sky over Beirut, and Reuters reported that loud explosions could be heard.
An Iranian official said 153 people were killed after a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, was hit on Saturday, February 28, reports the Mizan judicial news agency.
Another Iranian official previously said that the school, which is located about 600 meters from the base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was “the target of three rocket attacks”.
The BBC has confirmed the authenticity of footage taken after the attack, which shows smoke rising above the building as crowds of people gather, and panicked screams can be heard in the background.
However, the number of dead cannot be independently confirmed, the BBC notes, because international media organizations are often denied visas to Iran, which significantly limits their ability to collect information on the ground.
A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said he was “not aware” of any operation in the area.
“I also saw that the Americans said they were checking and investigating the incident,” he added.
