ISTANBUL

Recent US and Israeli strikes in Iran damaged hospitals and other civilian facilities located near military targets, raising concerns about the risks of bombing in densely populated areas, according to a CNN forensic investigation.

The network’s investigative team analyzed verified videos and satellite imagery showing that strikes targeting intelligence complexes, police facilities and state media infrastructure in Tehran also affected nearby hospitals.

Satellite images showed a crater about 40 feet (12.2 meters) wide, likely caused by a 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) bomb.

One of the affected locations was the headquarters of Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, which is about 100 feet (30.5 meters) from Gandhi Hospital.

Videos verified by CNN showed shattered glass, collapsed walls and patients -- including newborns -- being evacuated from the facility. Nearby Motahari and Khatam hospitals also sustained damage, while footage showed smoke rising from the headquarters of the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

Outside Tehran, a school in southern Iran near a military base was hit, killing more than 160 students and staff, according to Iranian media.

A gym in Fars province was also struck while 20 volleyball players were inside. The Human Rights Activists News Agency said the overall death toll from strikes across Iran has now exceeded 1,000.

- Park strike kills 20, report says

Separately, New Lines Magazine reported that a March 5 airstrike in Shiraz destroyed an emergency medical responders’ base in Zibashahr Park, killing 20 people and injuring 30.

Satellite imagery and videos indicated that a nearby military installation about 656 feet (200 meters) away was not hit.

“An hour ago, an airstrike by the Zionist regime and America hit the park. In the park there were buildings, residences, paramedics, emergency workers, firefighters, Red Crescent (personnel). A lot of people were here,” a witness said in a video posted by the Iranian Students’ News Agency on the US social media company X.

Human rights group Hengaw identified three medical workers among the dead: Hooshan Tork Alia, Sajjad Charkhandeh and Hassan Mohammadi.

Their deaths were confirmed by Hossein Kermanpour, head of public relations at Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Videos also showed damage to nearby homes.

- Experts question targeting

Some experts questioned the targeting of the Shiraz strike.

“It’s a bit inexplicable. The only identifiable military target wasn’t struck,” Adil Haque, a professor of the law of armed conflict at Rutgers University, told the magazine.

Former Pentagon targeting chief Wes Bryant said: “With those precision munitions, it’s very rare to have a miss…Highly improbable.”

Rohini Haar, co-chair of the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, said international law provides special protection for medical facilities.

“Firing off on a hospital without doing the distinction and proportionality is particularly egregious,” she said.

Haque added: “If there is substantial doubt, then you should refrain from attack.”

The precise party responsible for the Shiraz strike has not been confirmed, though US Central Command acknowledged conducting airstrikes in the city on March 2 and March 5.