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Nearly two weeks into nationwide school closures brought on by the US-Israeli war with Iran, Education Minister Yoav Kisch reaffirmed Thursday that the ministry is weighing a partial reopening of schools starting as early as next week, but that the plan will not apply to northern Israel or the densely populated Tel Aviv area.
Kisch made the remarks during a situational assessment in the northern city of Nahariya. The update comes after a night of heavy fire on the north and central Israel by both Iran and its Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah.
“The topic of a partial opening in those areas is not at all relevant at the moment,” Kisch said, referring to metropolitan Tel Aviv and the north.
On Monday, Kisch presented a plan to reopen daycares, special education, and grades 1, 2, 11, and 12 in areas designated as “yellow,” or at lower risk of attacks, in a color-coding system used by the Home Front Command, provided the schools have shelters.
So far, no area has been designated as “yellow.” The next assessment is set for Saturday night, just ahead of the beginning of the school week on Sunday morning.
Iran has fired volleys of missiles across Israel in response to the US-Israeli strikes that began on February 28, while Hezbollah in Lebanon has been firing rockets at communities across northern Israel, reaching into the center of the country.
Though most of last night’s rockets and missiles were intercepted by air defenses, some got through and caused damage. The attacks continued into early Thursday morning, with suspected drone infiltration and rocket alerts sounding in Nahariya and a number of Western Galilee communities, as well as Acre and some of Haifa’s northern suburbs.
Iran has also targeted countries across the Middle East.
According to a statement by the minister’s spokesperson after the most recent barrages, the ministry expected most of the country to remain at high risk, with schools continuing to operate only remotely.
The statement added that once an area is designated as yellow, it will take 24 hours to organize education sites and, therefore, schools are not expected to reopen before Monday.
It also said that the minister asked the Home Front Command to move up its assessment to allow schools to get organized to reopen on Sunday, where possible.
“If the [IDF] directive is received only on Saturday night, the opening of educational institutions in approved areas will be possible on Monday,” Kisch said in the statement.
Local authorities that have expressed interest in reopening schools under Kisch’s outline next week include Jerusalem, Maale Adumim in the West Bank, and the Gaza border communities in the south, all of which have experienced fewer attacks than the Tel Aviv area, known in Hebrew as Gush Dan, or the north.
Kisch said on Tuesday during a video press conference that for as long as they cannot reopen for on-site activities, schools will continue distance learning to maintain the connection between teachers and students.
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