TEHRAN- A special ceremony was held at the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf on Wednesday to honor the families of the martyred students of Minab, marking a profound gesture of solidarity and spiritual kinship.

During the ceremony, Sayyid Isa Al-Kharsan, the Custodian of the Holy Shrine, expressed his deep condolences to the grieving families. 

"By offering your own beloved children, you have demonstrated the highest manifestations of love and self-sacrifice in the path of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) and Imam Hossein (AS)," Al-Kharsan stated. He further emphasized that the servants of Imam Ali (AS) Holy Shrine share the sincerest emotional bonds and grief with the families.

At the invitation of the Holy Shrine, the families of the martyred students traveled to Najaf. The arrival of the families at Najaf airport was a poignant scene, as parents were seen clutching photographs of their martyred children, heading toward the sanctuary of Imam Ali (AS). 

This visit, arranged by the custodians of the Holy Shrine, coincides with the beginning of the month of Muharram. Sheikh Hussain, a servant of the shrine, noted that "this invitation is intended to provide solace and healing to the families of the martyrs, whose grief we share deeply."

This act of kinship follows a series of humanitarian initiatives sparked by the guidance of Grand Ayatollah Sistani, who called for support for the Iranian people during the Ramadan War. In response, the shrines of Karbala not only provided humanitarian aid but also broke ground for the construction of a fully equipped school in the vicinity of the Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab.

This latest invitation from the Iraqi Holy Shrines is a continuation of the unwavering support and empathy shown by the Iraqi people and the religious authorities toward Iran. 

Having been guests of the Imam Ali Holy Shrine on the first night of Muharram, the families are scheduled to visit the Holy Shrine of Imam Hossein (AS) in Karbala.

On February 28, the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan province, became the site of a devastating massacre as the United States and Israel initiated their strikes against Iran. 

While dozens of girls and boys aged between 7 and 12 were beginning their lessons, the school was targeted by a missile strike that caused the building to collapse, trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble. Iranian authorities confirmed a final death toll of 168 people, with at least 95 others wounded, marking one of the most harrowing incidents of the conflict's opening day.

Despite attempts by US and Israeli authorities to distance themselves from the carnage as images of the tragedy spread across social media, detailed forensic and digital investigations have painted a starkly different picture. 

An analysis by Al Jazeera’s digital investigations unit, utilizing over a decade of satellite imagery and recent video clips, revealed that the school was a clearly distinct civilian facility, separated from any adjacent military sites for at least ten years. Furthermore, witness accounts and satellite-based analyses confirmed that the school was triple tapped by three separate, deliberate strikes, leaving no doubt about the nature of the attack.

The international community has faced mounting evidence regarding the responsibility for this atrocity, with investigations from major global outlets including The New York Times, BBC Verify, CBC, and NPR all concluding that the United States was responsible for the strike. 

These findings have raised fundamental questions about the intelligence used to justify the bombing, as the patterns of the strike suggest a direct targeting of a civilian educational institution. The Minab school tragedy now stands as a somber testament to the immense human cost of the aggression and a focal point for those demanding international accountability.

SAB/