Crushed in a ’death trap’: 45 die in Israel’s worst peacetime disaster, at huge, packed Lag B’Omer event * Teen survivor: I was buried alive * W arnings ignored for years

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Friday, April 30, 2021 [45 crushed to death, over 150 hurt in stampede at mass Lag B’Omer event in Meron]( By [TOI staff]( [Many in critical condition as ambulances, helicopters evacuate victims from largest gathering held in Israel since COVID outbreak; kids said among dead, injured]( [Buried alive: ‘I thought I was going to die,’ says teen injured in Meron tragedy]( By [Nathan Jeffay and TOI staff]( [Shachar Ba’al Haness, 19, describes how he was crushed beneath a pile of bodies, and struggled to breathe for five minutes until police rescuers pulled him out]( [‘The dead were all around us:’ Survivors describe Mount Meron crush horror]( By [TOI staff]( Live updates [LIVE: As Meron deaths rise to 45, PM declares Sunday day of mourning, vows full probe]( By [TOI staff]( [Authorities still working to identify some of the dead; many families not yet notified; President Rivlin establishes hotline for families still seeking missing loved ones]( [State comptroller warned for years of overcrowding danger at Meron site]( By [TOI staff]( [Reports in 2008, 2011 raised concerns; internal police document in 2016 said site was chaotically managed, couldn’t safely accommodate numbers that attend annual Lag B’Omer event]( [Meron exit route was known for years as bottleneck; police commander takes blame]( By [TOI staff]( [‘Death trap’: Packed walkway, slippery metal floor – how Meron tragedy unfolded]( By [Raoul Wootliff]( [Fatal crushing occurred as large numbers of ultra-Orthodox participants moved through narrow passageway, on an incline, on the exit route from the pilgrimage site]( [Netanyahu laments ‘terrible disaster’ as politicians react to Meron tragedy]( By [TOI staff]( [Justice Ministry unit probing if police negligence led to deadly Meron crush]( By [TOI staff]( [Some victims of Meron tragedy named; other families desperately seek loved ones]( By [TOI staff]( [At least 35 of the 45 victims identified as remaining families frantically try to find out if their loved ones are among the dead; at least two families lost multiple children]( [Families gather at forensic center as officials work to identify the Meron dead]( By [TOI staff]( [Phones of the Meron dead still ringing with calls from ‘Mom’ and ‘My dear wife’]( By [TOI staff]( [Arab towns offer food, drink to Meron survivors; hundreds give blood in Tel Aviv]( By [TOI staff]( [Residents of nearby villages set up help stations for thousands making their way home; large lines at mobile units in Tel Aviv as residents wait for hours to donate]( [Global leaders, Jewish groups express ‘shock’ and ‘heartbreak’ at Meron tragedy]( By [Lazar Berman]( [The world’s deadliest stampedes — all at pilgrimages]( By [AFP]( Reporter's Notebook [Mass confusion as tens of thousands try to leave Mt. Meron after deadly stampede]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Traffic jams, frustration as throngs of men, women and children try to get home before Sabbath; lack of organization leaves hundreds of buses stuck on single-lane route]( Op-Ed [David Horovitz]( [Mount Meron, the disaster everyone knew was waiting to happen]( [The pilgrimage site was never properly equipped to cope with the vast annual crowds. The particular walkway was a known bottleneck. So why was a tragedy foretold allowed to happen?]( [In largest gathering since COVID, 100,000 flock to Mount Meron for Lag B’Omer]( By [TOI staff]( [Officials warn of COVID spread as thousands of pilgrims descend on Mount Meron]( By [TOI staff]( Top Ops [Ari Shishler]( [Meron: Tragedy for all of us]( [Now is a good time to stop hurling chairs and insults at each other. Instead, do the only appropriate thing and reach out with love and empathy]( [Anne Gordon]( [The Blasphemer]( [We want people to be able to overcome their origins, but what about a bad seed? The sages argue that this apple fell not far from its tree (Emor)]( [Rachel Sharansky Danziger]( [Praying together in the depths]( [It’s tempting to jump to accusations. 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Bank, is shot and hurt, police say]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2021 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved