Israel Stampede: At Least 44 Dead At Overcrowded Lag B'Omer Celebration

Dozens of people were killed and more than a hundred sustained injuries after a stampede erupted at a mountainside religious celebration in Israel.

An estimated 100,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews attended the Lag B’Omer holiday event on Thursday. The gathering, considered the largest public event in the country since COVID-19 broke out, commemorates the death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, or Rashbi, a 2nd-century Talmudic sage considered to be the author of the "Zohar," the primary work of Kabbalah.

According to some accounts, the deadly stampede started after some revelers fled the scene. The incident led to the death of 44 people, and more than 150 injured, Magen David Adom, an Israeli ambulance service, told The Times of Israel.

Magen David Adom said 38 people were found dead at the scene. Paramedics had also treated dozens of people, 18 of whom were in serious condition, two who were moderately hurt, and 80 lightly injured.

All of the people wounded from the stampede were brought to the Ziv hospital, where six died.

“A terrible disaster,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as conflicting reports of the event came in.

Early accounts of what led to the stampede varied greatly. Some attendees said revelers fled after a grandstand or a roof collapsed. Others said attendees slipped on the steps, leading to what police officials say was a domino effect. Some rescue workers said the stampede was caused by the sheer number of people.

"This is one of the worst tragedies that I have ever experienced," Lazar Hyman, vice president of volunteer-based emergency organization United Hatzalah, told CNN. "I have not seen anything like this since I entered into the field of emergency medicine back in 2000." Hyman was present at the scene.

Senior police figures deflected blame for the deadly stampede from Israel Police northern district commander Maj. Gen. Shimon Lavie, noting that the site was checked for any structural problems during the week leading up to the event, according to the Forward.

"Imposing the responsibility on Lavie isn't right, this event was unpreventable," a senior police source told Haaretz. The source added that revelers slipping on the stairs "was out of our [police] control."

The country’s health ministry had urged people not to attend the Lag B’Omer ceremony, issuing warnings that it could be a COVID-19 superspreader event.