Residents of Jerusalem woke up on Thursday morning to find the city blanketed with snow.
Some children built a snowman near the walls of Jerusalem’s old city, complete with Covid-19 face mask.
The Israeli Meteorological Service forecast heavy thunderstorms and cold temperatures across much of the country, with snowfall at higher altitudes including in Jerusalem.
Snowfall covered areas in the eastern Mediterranean region it has not reached in years, disrupting traffic and postponing vaccination campaigns against Covid-19 and even exams at some universities.
On Wednesday night, Israeli police closed the main road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem due to the snowy conditions.
Excavators with snowplow attachments were busy clearing the snow in downtown Jerusalem’s Mamilla shopping area.
And some braved the cold and recorded the unusual event by taking snapshots of themselves by Jaffa Gate – the iconic entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City.
