At least 44 killed in stampede at large Israeli religious festival

At least 44 people have been killed and 150 hospitalized in a stampede at a large Jewish festival in northern Israel, AP reports.

The big picture: Tens of thousands of people gathered at Mount Meron to observe Lag BaOmer, an Orthodox Jewish holiday honoring Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd century sage buried there, per AP. It’s the deadliest civilian disaster in Israel’s history, tied with a 2010 forest fire that killed 44.

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• The festival was the largest event of its kind held in the country since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident as a “heavy disaster,” per Reuters.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new details.

Source: https://www.axios.com/dozens-killed-stampede-israel-religious-6d4e6554-6b3b-40f5-86fb-80a33d4e21fa.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Axios

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