As security tensions intensify under Operation Roaring Lion, the Health Ministry announced sweeping new measures Sunday night, including the mass early discharge of hospital patients to create surge capacity. Community clinics will operate under emergency protocols, well-baby clinics will remain closed, and urgent care centers will significantly expand their services.

Reflecting a system-wide move to Alert Level Dalet, the ministry said hospitals are being prepared for extreme scenarios. Under the updated directives, efforts to release patients early from all hospitals will continue, and well-baby clinics will remain closed.

Continuing policies implemented over the past 24 hours, the ministry clarified that services on Monday will focus on urgent care only. Health funds have been instructed to keep open those clinics and medical facilities that comply with Home Front Command protection guidelines.

The directive states that only essential activity should take place in the community, alongside measures designed to minimize hospital visits. Health funds are required to strengthen telephone hotlines and expand remote medical services as alternatives to clinics that have been closed due to sheltering limitations.

In an effort to maintain continuity of care and prevent overcrowding in emergency rooms, health funds have been ordered to extend the operating hours of urgent care centers into the morning and afternoon, and in certain areas to run them 24 hours a day. General hospitals have likewise been directed to continue early discharge of inpatients to preserve their ability to absorb casualties, while elective and outpatient procedures are being significantly curtailed.

The measures also apply to the mental health system, where hundreds of calls have been reported to emergency hotlines, as well as to geriatric and rehabilitation hospitals, which have been instructed to create reserves of available beds. Despite the strict restrictions, the Health Ministry sought to convey cautious optimism, stating that it intends to ease some of the limitations in the coming days where possible. However, officials emphasized that all well-baby clinics will remain closed Monday, and district health offices will operate only for the most urgent cases.