Israel is easing wartime restrictions on public activities and gradually reopening its main airport, as the military reportedly says the rate of Iranian missile fire on the country is in decline.
From noon on Thursday, groups of 50 people were allowed to gather and workplaces to reopen, provided there was ample shelter nearby.
Any facility without quick access to a shelter, which in some parts of Israel amounts to a matter of seconds, remain in fully restricted. Educational centres remain closed, as do public beaches.
Israel’s airspace is set to reopen to outbound flights on Sunday, albeit under some restrictions, Transport Minister Miriam Regev announced. The first inbound repatriation flight landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday morning.
News of the reopening comes as Israel’s army reported all Iranian missiles fired overnight on Thursday were intercepted, boosting hopes that the coming days and weeks will be more manageable on the home front. The army has also been releasing bullish statements about the success of attacks damaging Iran’s ballistic missile operation.
Data compiled by Israeli think tank INSS showed 62 missile barrages hitting the country on Sunday, the second day of the war. That day also featured the highest daily death toll in Israel, 11 people, out of a total death count of 13. By Wednesday, the number of barrages had decreased to 10.
The new Israeli assessments are in stark contrast to the unfolding emergency in the region as Iran continues to expand its attacks across the Middle East, with no signs of letting up.
Israel, however, is faced with the new difficulty of Lebanese group Hezbollah joining the war. Although Hezbollah's munitions are less sophisticated than Iran's, Lebanon’s proximity to Israel means the group’s rockets arrive in a matter of seconds, leaving Israelis little time to take shelter. There are reports in Israeli media that the military believes Hezbollah may intensify its attacks.
Lior Shelef, a farmer from Kibbutz Snir in northern Israel, said Hezbollah attacks feel “no less scary” than during the conflict at the northern border during the Gaza war.
The group has so far fired dozens of munitions, mostly at the north of the country, but a few have reached the centre.
“The kids are very, very terrified. They’re going to sleep in the safe room and there’s no option of educational or cultural activity in the kibbutz,” he told The National at the outbreak of the fighting.
There has been some condemnation of the government’s domestic guidelines. Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised them for being “confused” in relation to the delayed reopening of educational centres.
“The situation is particularly severe in special education, where there is no solution for children and young people with special needs,” Mr Lapid wrote in a post on X.
