Israel PM Declares National Mourning Day As Stampede Kills 44 During Religious Festival
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced Sunday as a day of national mourning following the death of over 40 people at Mount Meron.
He visited the site where the people were said to have died following a stampede.
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About one hundred people were said to have also sustained injuries.
Nearly 100,000 orthodox Jews had on Thursday converged on Mount Meron to observe a religious rite.
New York Times reports that the “deadly crush began around 1 a.m. on Friday, as celebrants began to pour out of a section of a compound where festivities were being held.”
In a tweet on Friday, Netanyahu described the incident as a “disaster”.
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“There were heartbreaking scenes here. People were crushed to death, including children. Many of the victims have still not been identified and I would like to avoid the dissemination of rumors on social media because this breaks the families’ hearts. Let the authorities work,” he stated on Friday.
He called for an investigation into the incident, while also thanking security operatives for their intervention.
World leaders such as the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, have condoled with Israel over the sad incident.
