Schools in Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod reopen Friday
Kids in Sderot, Eshkol and other areas closer to Gaza get another day off
Schools in the southern cities of Beersheba, Ashdod and Ashkelon, which were shut down for the duration of Operation Pillar of Defense, will reopen Friday as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas enters its second day.
However, schools closer to the Gaza Strip will remain closed for another day, and are set to reopen Sunday.
On Thursday evening, Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that he would visit a school in Beersheba on Friday morning, accompanied by the city’s mayor, Ruvik Danilovich.
The mayors of the three cities made the decision to reopen schools under their jurisdiction after receiving the approval of the Home Front Command and the local parents’ associations.
A statement released by the three mayors after their meeting said leniency and understanding would be shown toward students and teachers who had left town while the schools weren’t operating.
According to the statement, the three mayors recommended that teachers devote the Friday school day to discussions centering on the security situation in southern Israel, which directly affected the students.
Schools and colleges in Sderot, Ofakim and the Eshkol, Sha’ar Hanegev and Hof Ashkelon Regional Councils, which are closer to the Gaza Strip, were set to remain closed until Sunday.