IDF eases home front limits in parts of north, tightens rules elsewhere amid Iran truce

The IDF Home Front Command on Monday adjusted its wartime guidelines, conditionally permitting educational activities in parts of northern Israel while limiting gatherings in the Jerusalem area and the south, amid the ongoing fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon and the shaky ceasefire in Iran.

In communities on the Lebanon border, educational activities will be allowed only inside bomb shelters, and in the northern Golan Heights and Upper Galilee, educational activities will be permitted, provided an adequate bomb shelter can be reached in time.

Speaking to Army Radio on Monday night, Metula Mayor David Azoulay said, “They don’t update us on why the rules were eased. Maybe they know something we don’t.”

Meanwhile, gatherings are now restricted to 5,000 people in the southern Golan, Beit She’an Valley, Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Judea (southern West Bank), Judean Foothills, Lachish, Gaza border communities, the Negev, Arava, and Eilat. The limit on restrictions in these areas had previously been lifted.

In the rest of the country, no changes were made to the guidelines, the military said. Nearly all restrictions were lifted last week in the rest of the country, allowing schools and workplaces to operate as usual.

The guidelines remain in effect until Tuesday at 8 p.m. By then, the Home Front Command will have conducted a fresh assessment.

A full list of guidelines per locale can be found on the Home Front Command’s website.

Though the US-Israeli military campaign in Iran has been paused since Wednesday, in accordance with a two-week ceasefire agreement, the truce remains fragile and is set to expire on Independence Day, which begins the evening of Tuesday, April 21, immediately following Memorial Day.

Should the truce expire or collapse ahead of time, Israel could face a resumption of ballistic missile attacks from Iran, driving millions into bomb shelters at minutes’ notice.

Several cities have canceled their Independence Day events in light of the security situation.

Moreover, despite protestations from Iran and mediator Pakistan, the United States and Israel have insisted that the ceasefire does not apply to ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and both airstrikes and IDF ground operations continue against the Iran-backed terror group in Lebanon, which has continued to fire rockets and drones at both Israeli troops and civilians in Israel.