51 killed in Iranian girls' school after US-Israel joint strikes; tensions escalate
Amid the clashes, explosions were also reported in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, other cities as Iran reportedly launched retaliatory strikes
At least 51 people were killed on Saturday in a strike on a girls' school in southern part of Iran, a provincial official said, as per AFP. The death toll comes hours after US-Israel launched “preventive airstrike” on the Islamic Republic, under the ‘Operation Epic Fury.’
Apart from the casualties, 60 others were wounded in the attack in Minab in Iran's Hormozgan province, state TV reported.
Israel Defense Forces said retaliatory strikes have been launched by Iran towards the country - and explosions have been heard in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait
Earlier in the day, Trump urged Iranians to "take over" the Iranian government, saying "it will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations"
Images on social media showed vehicles in Tehran engulfed in flames, with daily life thrown into disarray as the clashes continued.
Iran-Israel-US clash
Tensions intensified in the Middle East on Saturday as explosions were heard in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital city Abu Dhabi, as well as in Dubai; Doha; and Riyadh, hours after Israel and the United States launched what they described as “major combat operations” against Iran.
One person was killed in Abu Dhabi after authorities in the UAE said they intercepted missiles launched from Iran, news agency Reuters reported.
One witness told the news agency that she heard five booms in rapid succession, causing windows in a house near Abu Dhabi’s Corniche to vibrate.
Airlines suspend Middle East flights
In the wake of the tensions that plunged Middle East into renewed military tensions – global airlines suspended flights across the regions.
Flight maps showed the airspace over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel and Bahrain virtually empty as Israel said it struck Iran and the US military initiated a series of strikes against targets in the country. Iran retaliated with a salvo of missiles, reported Reuters.
Indian aviation major Air India said that its Delhi-Tel Aviv flight has been diverted to Mumbai amid closure of the Israeli airspace, PTI reported. “AI139 operating from Delhi to Tel Aviv on 28 February is returning to India due to closure of airspace in Israel and in the interest of safety of passengers and crew. We will continue to assess the safety and security environment for our flight operations and adjust operations proactively as needed,” the Tata Group owned airline's statement read.
Airlines have cancelled almost 40% of flights to Israel and 6.7% of flights to the broader region on Saturday, according to preliminary data from Cirium accessed by the news agency.