Israel restores some restrictions in north amid Hezbollah fire, nixes major pilgrimage
After 9 days without restrictions nationwide, Home Front Command caps gatherings in Lebanon border towns at 1,500; PM orders Lag B’Omer festivities at Meron held in ‘symbolic’ fashion
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Israel reimposed some gathering restrictions Sunday in the north, including the cancellation of a mass pilgrimage planned for next week, amid persistent attacks by Hezbollah despite a ceasefire in Lebanon.
The IDF Home Front Command tightened gathering limits after the whole country had been free of any restrictions since April 18, in light of the truces with Iran and Hezbollah.
Following a fresh assessment, the Home Front Command said gatherings in communities along the Lebanon border, as well as in Meron, Bar Yohai, Or HaGanuz and Safsufa in the Galilee, would be restricted to 1,500 people.
The restrictions were to remain in effect until Monday at 8 p.m., by which time another assessment would be held.
A full list of guidelines per locale can be found on the Home Front Command’s website.
Early Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the premier had ordered the cancellation of this year’s main Lag B’Omer event on Mount Meron in northern Israel, typically attended by hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men, citing safety concerns amid the shaky ceasefire.
A letter signed by Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs and sent out by the premier’s office said the Hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai — honoring the 2nd-century Mishnaic sage — would be held this year with limited, symbolic attendance, with the exact details to be determined later.
The reason, the letter said, was “fear of a mass-casualty event due to the fragility of the ceasefire with Lebanon, the proximity of the site to the Lebanon border, the launching of rockets to the area, and difficulties in the timely large-scale evacuation of the participants.”
The letter also cited the reimposed Home Front Command restrictions.
Lag B’Omer will be marked this year on the evening of Monday, May 4, and on the following day.
The Meron event faces safety challenges even in peacetime, as the extreme density of the typical crowd there creates the danger of people being crushed to death, as happened in 2021 when 45 participants died in Israel’s worst-ever civilian disaster.
The Times of Israel Community.