Iranian Missile Fragment Lands in Samaria Schoolyard, Families Sheltering Inside

Families were sheltering inside a school in the Samaria community of Peduel when a large fragment of an Iranian missile crashed into the schoolyard on March 22, leaving children photographed beside the debris and, by reported accounts, no injuries among those inside.

The incident unfolded as part of a broader Iranian ballistic missile assault that struck the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad, wounding 115 people. It was those strikes, not the Peduel fragment alone, that prompted Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch to act Saturday night. "Following the impacts in Dimona and Arad, and after consultation with the commander of the Home Front Command, I have decided that on Sunday and Monday, all exceptions will be canceled, and in-person learning will not be permitted," said Kisch.

Kisch extended the shutdown nationwide, including areas under lighter restrictions: "Remote learning will take place nationwide and there will be no physical classes, even in 'yellow' areas." He added that "ahead of Tuesday, a renewed situation assessment will be conducted, and further updates will be provided accordingly."

A large fragment of an Iranian missile hit the schoolyard in Peduel, according to local media reports on Sunday night. No injuries were reported in the incident. The image circulated alongside the reporting showed children standing near the fragment at the impact site, underscoring how close civilian spaces came to lethal consequences.

Separately, forensic reporting out of Minab, in southern Iran, has surfaced evidence pointing to a different category of munition entirely. CNN identified remnants of a US-made Tomahawk cruise missile among fragments displayed near the shell of the Shajareh Tayyiba elementary school, including a satellite antenna and an actuator motor marked with "Made in USA" and the name of Ohio-based manufacturer Globe Motors. It was not possible to confirm whether those fragments came from the school strike, a strike on a neighboring IRGC naval base, or from elsewhere; they do, however, appear consistent with a US-made Tomahawk cruise missile, according to CNN's review and expert analysis. A Tomahawk missile was used in at least one strike on the IRGC base next to the school, based on CNN's analysis of video capturing it hitting a building.

Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member who works for open-source investigative group Bellingcat, also assessed the fragments as part of a Tomahawk missile, while acknowledging that provenance could not be determined from images alone. Footage posted by semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr News appeared to show an American BGM or UGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile targeting the IRGC naval base adjacent to the school. Iranian state media reported that at least 168 children and 14 teachers were killed in the February 28 strike on that site; CNN attributed those figures to state media and did not independently confirm them.

The Minab evidence and the Peduel fragment are separate incidents with no source-established connection. The Peduel schoolyard fragment has been identified by Israeli reporting as Iranian in origin; no forensic detail comparable to the Minab analysis has been published for it. With Kisch's Tuesday reassessment pending and no independent confirmation yet of the fragment's precise type or trajectory, the full picture of what fell on Peduel remains open.