Flags were lowered to half-mast across Israel on Friday afternoon as the nation mourned the victims of a stampede that claimed the lives of 45 people and left 150 wounded in what has emerged as the worst civilian disaster to ever strike the Jewish state.
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Dozens of people were crushed to death in the early hours of Friday morning at the prayer compound at Mount Meron, where tens of thousands of mostly ultra-Orthodox worshippers had gathered to celebrate Lag B'Omer.
The exact circumstances of the tragedy have yet to be ascertained but initial evidence points to overcrowding at a narrow, metal-floored walkway that for years has been a potential bottleneck. Crammed inside, dozens of worshippers appeared to have slipped on the metal floor, falling on those around them and causing what a police official described as a "crushing domino effect."
The Health Ministry issued an update on the condition of the wounded noting that as of Friday afternoon, 29 were in serious condition and three were in moderate condition. The rest were suffering from minor injuries.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Sunday would be a day of national mourning over the disaster. Flags nationwide were lowered to half-mast shortly afterward.
"This is one of the worst tragedies in Israel's history and it is hard to fathom," Magen David Adom rescue service Director-General Eli Bin said. "MDA trained for this [the Lag B'Omer festival], as it does every year, but we never could have imagined we would find ourselves handling such a complex event.
"Even paramedics who have grown accustomed to arriving at difficult scenes struggled with what we faced. We pray for the wounded's speedy recovery and send our condolences to the families whose loved ones perished in this terrible disaster."
The National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, where the victims' bodies were sent for identification, called in special teams of social workers and Haredi officials to assist the families. Yiddish speakers were called in as well, as Yiddish is the language most prevalent in the Haredi community.
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau arrived at the forensic institute as well to assist in the identification of the victims as much as possible prior to Shabbat.
Thirty-two of the victims were identified before the process had to be halted for Shabbat. Eight of the victims were laid to rest in Jerusalem in the late afternoon hours.
Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef issued a statement following the disaster, saying, "This is no time to look for someone to blame. I call on the public to pray for the wounded's speedy recovery and support the families who lost their loved ones."
Once the scope of the disaster was made clear on Friday morning, Israelis rallied to the aid of the wounded, victims' families, and first responders.
Thousands heeded MDA's call to donate blood, to the point where the drive had to be suspended as medical teams could not keep up.
Israel's national flag carrier, El Al Airlines, offered free tickets to immediate family members who found they had to fly to Israel to attend funerals. The offer covers essentially every country from which El Al operates direct flights to Israel.
Moved by photos of the scene dotted with hundreds of pairs of broken eyeglasses, optometrists nationwide offered to replace any of the casualties' missing eyewear free of charge.
Arab communities in northern Israel, located en route to Mount Meron, also rallied to support those evacuated from the area, as well as rescue teams.
Tamra, an Arab locality in the Lower Galilee, set up multiple rest-stops for those traveling back from the scene "so they could rest for a while, eat and drink something, and contact their families to let them know they were safe," said Yoseph Haddad, head of the Together – Vouch for Each Other NGO.
"There are many local Arab initiatives to help the victims as a show of solidarity amid this terrible disaster. We all pray for the victims," he added.
Beit Jann, a Druze village on Mount Meron, also offered help. Mayor Radi Najm said, "The residents of Beit Jann offer condolences to the Israeli public and the victims' families. We wish the wounded a speedy recovery. Our doors are open to all those who need help."
Meanwhile, Dozens of Tel Avivians gathered outside the National Center of Forensic Medicine to support the families arriving there to identify the victims. Residents brought refreshments and offered accommodations for the weekends for those who could not travel back home over Shabbat.
The Jewish Agency issued a statement saying it "mourns the tragedy that occurred last night on Mount Meron. Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and a quick and complete recovery to the wounded.
"Jewish communities from around the world have been reaching out to the Jewish Agency expressing their support and offering their sympathy and prayers – a true sign of global Jewish solidarity.
On Friday evening, the Health Ministry said 32 of the victims were identified.
Responding to criticism by some families who said bureaucracy was delaying matters, the ministry said, "The details are collected from family members. Fingerprints, dental records, and DNA tests are also required to identify victims who could not be identified at the scene. This is a process that takes time and cannot be rushed, and it may take several hours."
Of the victims identified, the following names have been released: Menachem Zakbach (24) from Modiin Illit; David Kraus (33) from Beit Shemesh; Yosef Amram Tauber, an American citizen; Rabbi Eliezer Mordechai Goldberg (37) from Beitar Illit; Eliezer Tzvi Youzef (26), from the US; Eliyahu Cohen (16) from Beitar Illit; Simcha Bunim Diskind (23) from Beit Shemesh; Shimon Matalon (37) from Beitar Illit; Haim Seller (24) from Jerusalem; Rabbi Hanoch Slod (52), from Ashdod; Yedidya Fogel (22) from Jerusalem; Moshe Ben-Shalom (20) from Bnei Brak, and Yonatan Chevroni from Givat Shmuel.
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Two sets of siblings were also among the victims: 14-year-old Moshe Engelrad and 9-year-old Yehoshua Engelrad, and Moshe Mordechai Elchadad (12) and Yosef David Elchadad (18), all from Jerusalem.
Hassidic singer Rabbi Shraga Gestetner (35) of Montreal, who came to Israel specifically for the Lag B'Omer celebrations, was also killed in the disaster. He was buried in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon but with no immediate family present in Israel to attend the funeral.
Yehuda Shlezinger, Dan Lavie, Shlomi Diaz, Yori Yalon, Hanan Greenwood, Avi Cohen, and Liran Ohali contributed to this report.
