Israel to enter second coronavirus lockdown on Friday as cases surge

Israel is to impose its second coronavirus lockdown for the entire three-week Jewish holiday season, starting on Friday, in response to a spike in infections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says.

Following hours of heated debate, Netanyahu's cabinet voted in favour of the drastic measure, which starts with the Jewish New Year on September 18 and ends with the Tabernacles holiday on October 9.

Ministers who voted in favour fear that large family gatherings for the New Year dinner, mass prayers on the Day of Atonement and huddling together in small huts or booths for the Tabernacles holiday, will spread the virus even more than it already has since Israel in May eased its first lockdown imposed in mid-March.

Israel has had a second wave of infections, with coronavirus cases crossing the 4,000 mark earlier this week for the first time since the pandemic reached the country in February.