Schools in Kiryat Shmona, Israel’s northernmost city near the border with Lebanon, reopened for the first time after some 16 months of war on Sunday.

But what should have been a celebratory milestone was met with little fanfare, and even opposition from the municipality’s mayor.

Mayor Avichai Stern has long criticized the Education Ministry for what he says has been intense pressure to reopen schools in the northern city, which was severely battered by more than a year of near-daily bombardment by Hezbollah drones, missiles, and rockets.