Empty classroom (illustrative)
Empty classroom (illustrative)iStock

Following the announcement by IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari that the alert level for the Israeli home front from Haifa and northwards would be raised to Level 2 until Monday, multiple communities in northern Israel have announced school cancellations.

Schools were not officially ordered canceled, but gatherings inside buildings are permitted up to 300 people, and outside up to 30 people. In addition, residents were ordered to remain close enough to bomb shelters enter the protected space within the required amount of time; for some areas of northern Israel, the time frame is 0 seconds, in other areas it is 15 or 30 seconds.

In the cities of Nahariya and Maalot-Tarshiha, there will be no school on Sunday; in Karmiel, school will be canceled only for middle school and high school students.

Kiryat Bialik, however, has announced that school will be open as usual, other than for institutions which do not have appropriate bomb shelters.

In Haifa, schools will operate on a partial basis: On Sunday, only some of the classes will have in-person learning, such that every student will be able to reach shelter within the appropriate time frame. Any class or preschool which is informed that it will have in-person studies will continue the day as usual, including afternoon programs, and special education will have its usual busing. Everyone else will attend class remotely, by means of Zoom or other school systems.

Akko (Acre) has announced that there will be no school or preschool, and the city is preparing for remote learning. The Druze village of Julis announced that schools will hold classes remotely, and that preschools and daycares will not operate; Kfar Vradim also announced school closures.