Israel has eased some wartime civilian restrictions to allow limited economic activity to resume, following warnings from the Finance Ministry about mounting financial losses. Under updated guidelines from the Home Front Command, employees may return to workplaces if they can reach a standard protected space in time during a rocket alert. Public gatherings of up to 50 people are also permitted under the same safety condition.

The changes take effect Thursday at noon and are expected to remain in place until at least Saturday evening. Schools will stay closed except in exceptional cases, meaning many parents allowed to return to work may still need to remain home to care for their children.

The policy shift came after Finance Ministry Director General Ilan Rom cautioned that broad economic shutdowns could result in losses of about 9.5 billion shekels, roughly 2.6 billion dollars, in the first week of the war alone. He stressed the need to balance civilian security with economic stability, warning that prolonged restrictions would carry heavy financial costs. Hours after his appeal, the partial easing of restrictions was announced.