Israeli Education Minister: The School Year Will Not Begin in the North

Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch informed the heads of the evacuated settlements along the border with Lebanon that "the upcoming school year will be canceled in their settlements." Kisch told local authority leaders in the northern settlements that "students from the northern communities evacuated due to the war will not be able to return to schools in their hometowns in September and will instead continue to attend schools throughout Israel. This is due to the security complexities in the region, which is subjected to continuous rocket fire and drone attacks by Hezbollah." Kisch described the decision not to start the school year in the affected northern towns as "a pity" and called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "act now and forcefully against the state of Lebanon." He believed that "there is no avoiding the decision to launch a large-scale war on Lebanon to restore peace and stability for the residents of the north and for the future of the State of Israel."