At the annual Lag B’Omer festival at the foot of Mount Meron, dozens more people were injured; and at least 44 people were killed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the scene and declared Sunday a national day of mourning.
The Lag B’Omer festival drew tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews, making it Israel’s largest event since the coronavirus pandemic started.
Many restrictions have been lifted as a result of the country’s effective vaccination program, but health officials have cautioned about the possibility of Covid-19.
A nation in shock
“It happened in a split second; people just fell, trampling each other. It was a disaster,” one witness told.
This is the worst civilian disaster in its modern history. Thousands of people are seen trying to escape across a close passage in videos posted online.
Until police ordered a complete evacuation of the place, loud messages urged the people to disperse.
Several ambulances arrived on the scene, and medical personnel laid bodies out on the ground. Helicopters transported hurt people to hospitals. Search-and-rescue troops were also deployed, according to the military.
At least 150 people were injured, including 38 who were in critical condition at the site where Lag B’Omer festival ocurred.
Funerals supposed to take place until after the Jewish Sabbath, which starts at sunset. Leading rabbis have urged people to pray for those who have been killed or wounded.
“All of a sudden we saw paramedics… running by,” another attendee, Shlomo Katz, said. “One after the other [they] started coming out… Then we understood that something is going on here.”
Organizers reported that 100,000 people attended the Lag B’Omer festival, according to the Times of Israel. The attendance was higher than last year, when it was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.
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