News Digest — 4/9/26
Schools Opening Across Most Of Israel Thursday As Wartime Restrictions Eased
The IDF Home Front Command announced on Wednesday evening (8th) that wartime restrictions would be lifted across most of Israel starting Thursday (9th) as a fragile ceasefire in the US-Israeli war with Iran took hold.
The loosened restrictions meant that schools across Israel would be able to reopen and resume functioning as normal for the first time since February 28, when the war began.
In northern Israel, however, some reservations would remain in place due to the threat of Hezbollah rocket fire from Lebanon, the Home Front Command said. Educational activities will still be permitted under certain conditions.
As part of the changes, communities on the Lebanon border, in most of the Golan Heights, the Upper Galilee and the Haifa Bay area will be allowed to hold educational activities only inside bomb shelters.
In those affected areas, gatherings of up to 50 people outdoors, and 200 people indoors will be permitted, while workplaces will be allowed to operate if adequate shelter can be reached in time in the event of incoming rocket fire.
In the rest of the country, nearly all restrictions have been lifted, the Home Front Command said, allowing schools and workplaces to resume operations as normal. However, gatherings will be limited to 1,000 people in many areas.
The changes will take effect at 6:a.m. on Thursday (9th) and remain in place for just 14 hours until 8:p.m. Thursday. By then, a new assessment will be carried out by the Home Front Command to determine whether to extend or adjust the guidelines.
Despite lifting nearly all restrictions the military warned that Hezbollah’s rocket fire could still target central Israel or further south.
As part of preparations for schools to reopen, the military said it held discussions with local authorities and the Education Ministry and was conducting scans for unexploded ordnance in the areas around schools countrywide to enable a safe return.
The Ministry also reportedly indicated to localities that they would be allowed to delay the resumption of in-person learning should they need more time to prepare, given the short notice.
And with the country’s 2.5 million children set to return to the classroom after being stuck at home for the past five weeks, Education Minister Yoav Kisch said on Wednesday evening (8th) that he had instructed schools to focus on the emotional well-being of their students and make adjustments in accordance with their needs.
In the wake of the Home Front Command announcement, many cities and towns in central Israel announced that they would be ready to return to regular educational activities as soon as Thursday morning (9th), including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Rishon Lezion, and other neighboring locales. Jerusalem also confirmed it would reopen schools on Thursday, as did Mevaseret Zion, on the outskirts of the city.
Most localities in the Sharon region, including Herzliya, Hod Hasharon, Kfar Saba, Hadera and more, also announced that they would reopen schools in full.
According to Hebrew media outlets, the Education Ministry had already notified many municipalities before the restrictions were even formally lifted that they were free to reopen schools as normal after Passover, which ended Wednesday evening (8th) in Israel.
Netanyahu: Ceasefire Is Temporary, Israel ready To resume War
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation on Wednesday (8th) regarding the ceasefire with Iran.
Netanyahu opened by thanking the citizens of Israel. “When you proved resilience and sat in the protected rooms and shelters, together, we achieved incredible achievements, our soldiers on the front, and you at the rear.”
According to the Prime Minister, “The state of Israel has achieved tremendous achievements, ones which until not long ago seemed totally imaginary. Iran is weaker than ever; Israel is stronger than ever. That is the bottom line of the campaign until this moment.”
Netanyahu clarified that Israel has more goals to achieve in Iran, and added, “We will achieve them through an agreement or by restarting the war. We are ready to return to battle at any moment needed. The finger is on the trigger.” He also made clear that the ceasefire was coordinated with Israel: “They didn’t surprise us at the last moment. This is not the end of the war, but rather a stop on the way to achieving all the goals.”
The Prime Minister thanked US President Donald Trump and said that “your deep friendship and allyship changes the face of the Middle East.” According to Netanyahu, “We set out together to remove the existential threat to the State of Israel and the entire free world. If we had not launched ‘Rising Lion’ and if we had not launched ‘Roaring Lion,’ Iran would have already had a nuclear weapon and many thousands of missiles to destroy Israel and threaten all of our existence. We have removed the double existential threat. We set the terror regime back years.”
“Not only did we destroy existing missiles, but we destroyed factories that manufacture missiles. They are not manufacturing new missiles. We hit the nuclear program hard. We destroyed many nuclear infrastructures and centrifuges.”
Regarding the enriched materials that remain in Iran, Netanyahu added, “It will leave Iran, whether through an agreement, or with renewal of war.”
Netanyahu clarified that the ceasefire does not include Hezbollah, “We are continuing to hit them – today we landed the hardest blow on Hezbollah since the Pager Operation.”
Trump: US Military Will Stay Near Iran Until Tehran Complies With Ceasefire Deal
All US military personnel and equipment will “remain in place in, and around, Iran” until Tehran complies with the ceasefire agreement, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social late Wednesday night (8th).
“All US Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with,”he wrote.
“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘shootin’ starts. Bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before,” he threatened.
“It was agreed a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE,” he stated.
“In the meantime, our great Military is loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!” the post concluded.
Iran: ‘Unreasonable’ to forge permanent deal while Israel strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran had said earlier on Wednesday (8th) that it would be “unreasonable” to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal with the United States after Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday (8th),
The two sides also appeared to be far apart on Iran’s nuclear program, with Iran saying it had agreed to stop enriching uranium, and Iran’s Parliament speaker, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, saying it was allowed to continue enriching uranium under the terms of the ceasefire.
Surprise Attack: IDF Strikes 100 Targets In Lebanon
The IDF on Wednesday (8th) conducted a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah command centers and military sites in Beirut, Beqaa, and southern Lebanon.
This is the largest strike carried out against Hezbollah infrastructure since the start of Operation Roaring Lion.
The targets struck included Hezbollah headquarters, military arrays, and command-and-control centers, including Intelligence command centers and central headquarters for directing and planning terror attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians. Also attacked were infrastructure of Hezbollah’s power and naval arrays, responsible for launching missiles toward IDF soldiers on the ground, at sea and within Israeli territory. And finally, the IDF attacked the Radwan Force, and the Aerial (127) Unit – Hezbollah’s elite units.
The large-scale strike was based on precise IDF intelligence, and was planned meticulously over weeks by the IDF Operations Directorate, the Intelligence Directorate, the Israeli Air Forces, and the Northern Command, in order to deepen the damage inflicted on the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
Most of the infrastructure that was hit was located within the heart of the civilian population, as part of Hezbollah’s cynical exploitation of Lebanese civilians. Prior to the strikes, steps were taken to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear on Wednesday (8th) that the ceasefire with Iran did not include Lebanon.
The Iranian Tasnim News Agency quoted an Iranian source warning that Iran may withdraw from the ceasefire agreement if Israel continues its strikes in Lebanon.
“Iran is considering the possibility of exiting the ceasefire,” the source said. “Halting the war on all fronts was agreed upon by the United States as part of the plan, but the Zionist regime has continued brutal attacks against Lebanon since this morning.. This is a blatant violation of the ceasefire.”
Why The Islamic Republic May Survive The War But Not The Peace – Mehdi Parpanchi
The war in Iran struck a regime already burdened by a series of major setbacks over the past three years. The joint U.S.-Israeli attack became possible only after those earlier setbacks changed the landscape. The Islamic Republic is now in direct confrontation with the world’s most formidable military power, the U.S., and the region’s strongest army, Israel. Why should the regime not survive the bombing campaign as it has survived so many earlier shocks? The Islamic Republic says it is winning the war. History will deliver its answer soon enough.
For years, the Islamic republic spoke of control over four Arab capitals, of a Shia crescent, and of strategic depth. It presented itself as a power on the march – expanding, advancing, and shaping the region around itself. When Assad fell, when Syria was lost, and when the proxies took crippling blows, that image began to collapse. What had been presented as strategic depth looked increasingly like an expensive illusion.
Israel’s attack in June 2025 exposed the gap between propaganda and reality. For years, Ali Khamenei and his IRGC commanders boasted about indigenous air-defense systems. They told Iranians that even the most sophisticated U.S, and Israeli aircraft could not operate over Iran. Billions were spent developing these systems and building an image of invulnerability. That myth collapsed on first contact with reality when the 12-day war began.
The 12-day war shattered the regime’s image of competence, control, and strength for millions of Iranians. Much of the population that opposed the regime saw it humiliated and were openly pleased to see it struck so hard. At the same time, parts of the regime’s own support base were stunned to see Israeli bombers operate over Iran with such ease.
The events of Jan. 8-9, 2026, marked a decisive shift in Iran’s political landscape. In Tehran, an estimated 1.5 million people took to the streets, with similar scenes repeated in 400 cities, with total participation reaching 5 million. The state responded with lethal force that killed 36,500 people in 48 hours. The scale of the violence shattered the narrative that the Islamic Republic still ruled with some measure of public consent. A state that still commands genuine consent does not need to kill on such a scale to clear the streets.
The scale of the damage from the Israeli-U.S, military operation that began on Feb. 28 is now impossible to ignore. The Supreme leader is dead, along with more than fifty senior IRGC commanders. If the war ends without the immediate fall of the regime, many will label it a defeat for the U.S. and Israel. But battlefield metrics are a poor measure of political reality. The economy is in dire condition, sanctions will not disappear.
Political systems do not always collapse during war. Often, they collapse in the aftermath, when military failure gives way to elite fracture and a society is no longer willing to live as before.
The writer is executive editor at Iran International TV.
