Israel's nationwide lockdown was extended Monday to contain the coronavirus which has continued to spread rapidly as the country presses ahead with an aggressive vaccination campaign.
The current lockdown, declared on December 27, is the third in Israel since the pandemic began last year.
The cabinet prolonged the closure until Friday morning, but scheduled a fresh meeting for Wednesday to assess whether a further extension was required, a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the health ministry said.
With Israel, a country of about 9 million people, still regularly registering more than 5,000 new cases per day, Netanyahu had pushed for the lockdown's extension.
Israel's lockdown also includes an unprecedented airport and border closure, which Netanyahu has described as a necessary weapon in the "arms race" against coronavirus variants.
The cabinet has extended the ban on commercial flights imposed last month until February 7.
Road crossings to Egypt and Jordan will also remain closed.
Israel has registered nearly 620,000 coronavirus cases, including more than 4,500 deaths.
It has also given at least one of the required of two Pfizer-made jabs to more than three million people, a pace widely described as the world's fastest per capita.
Israel hopes to vaccinate its entire over-16 population by the end of March.
