In-person learning to resume in most schools in Israel after wartime restrictions eased

In-person learning is expected to resume tomorrow morning for most schools in Israel, after the IDF Home Front Command eased its wartime safety restrictions following the two-week ceasefire declared last night.

Even before the guidelines were updated, the Education Ministry notified many municipalities that they are free to reopen schools following the Passover break, according to Hebrew outlets.

The ministry reportedly indicated it would allow localities to delay the shift back to in-person learning should they request more time to prepare.

Nevertheless, many cities and towns in central Israel have already announced that schools will reopen tomorrow morning, including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Rishon Lezion, and other neighboring locales. Mevaseret Zion, near Jerusalem, will reopen schools tomorrow.

Most localities in the Sharon region, including Herzliya, Hod Hasharon, Kfar Saba, Pardes Hanna-Karkur and Hadera, have also announced they will reopen schools in full.

Amid continuing rocket fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon, schools in northern communities are expected to operate under tighter conditions. The Home Front Command announced this evening that educational activities will be restricted to bomb shelters in communities on the Lebanon border, in most of the Golan Heights, Upper Galilee, and the Haifa Bay.

Before restrictions were eased, the Haifa municipality announced it had not yet made a decision on in-person learning and would defer to the Home Front Command’s instructions.

Beersheba, the largest city in southern Israel, has decided to reopen schools tomorrow, as well as the coastal city of Ashkelon. Dimona and Yeruham have decided not to reopen tomorrow, according to Channel 12 News.