Minab, Iran - The families of more than 100 young children who were slaughtered when the US bombed an elementary school in Iran have penned a grief-stricken letter to Pope Leo XIV.

When President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to bombard Iran on February 28, civilian targets were immediately struck by artillery.

One of the first targets to be hit that day was an elementary school in the city of Minab, where nearly 200 people – mostly children – were killed. The incident is considered a likely war crime for which the US has yet to take responsibility.

Pope Leo XIV spoke out forcefully against the strike at the time, saying in March that he'd renewed his prayers for "all those who have lost their loved ones in the attacks that have struck schools, hospitals, and residential areas."

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In a heartbreaking letter addressed to the pontiff, the families of those who died in the Minab school strike described the incident's horrific aftermath.

"We are the fathers and mothers of 168 children who, these days, instead of hugging the warm bodies of our children, are clutching their burnt bags and bloody notebooks to our chests; innocent children whose only crime was smiling in the classroom," read the letter, which was shared by the Iranian Republic News Agency.

"When the terrible sound of explosions closed the ears of the world to our cries, the echo of [Pope Leo XIV's] peaceful words became a balm for our endless wounds," they wrote.

On his way home from a trip aboard last week, Leo addressed the letter, telling reporters that the families had spoken "about how they have lost their children, who died in that event."

"The issue is not whether there is regime change or not; the issue is how to promote the values we believe in without the death of so many innocent people," he said.