As Sderot schools open for first time since Oct. 7, ministry says 55-60% of kids in attendance

The education system in Sderot officially returns to operation, with some 100 schools and kindergartens opening across the beleaguered southern city.

Between 55 and 60 percent of K-12 Sderot students have officially returned, an Education Ministry spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.

The southern city of approximately 30,000 has been largely evacuated for some five months due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, with residents living in hotels or other temporary conditions elsewhere in the country, mostly in Eilat.

Sderot was one of many locations overrun by Hamas on October 7, with terrorists moving through the city on foot and in pickup trucks and slaughtering at least 50 civilians and 20 police officers.

The number of students returning to school and kindergarten in the city “was a surprise, we thought it would be lower,” says Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi, speaking at an informal press conference outside an elementary school in the city alongside Education Minister Yoav Kisch and other officials.

Because of manpower and staffing issues, reopening the schools in Sderot necessitated closing the temporary education systems set up for evacuated Sderot residents in other areas, the education minister says.