Israel cancels school year in areas near Lebanon

Israel has canceled the upcoming school year in areas near the border with Lebanon amid cross-border clashes with Hezbollah. 

“It has been decided that the school year will not begin this year in the north,” Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch said on X.

“Students from northern communities will be able to attend schools in other parts of Israel,” he added.

More than 62,000 Israelis have been displaced from areas in northern Israel. The violence has also forced more than 90,000 Lebanese to flee their homes in southern Lebanon, according to official figures.

Previously, the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to start the school year on September 1 in areas near the Lebanese border.

Kisch said closing schools in northern Israel “is an unfortunate decision that was imposed on us and is accepted with a heavy heart.”

The education minister called on Netanyahu and security chiefs to act “now and forcefully” against Lebanon.