At least 44 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a stampeded ata religious festival attended by thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in thenorth-east of Israel.

A large crowd gathered in Mount Meron to celebrate the Jewish holiday LagBaOmer, an annual festival, when the tragedy occurred Thursday night.

Official said that 150 people were shifted to hospitals with injuries,adding that six of them are in critical condition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the scene and said Sundaywould be observed as a day of national mourning.

It was the biggest gathering in Israel since the coronavirus pandemicbegan. The country has lifted various restrictions after successfulvaccination drive but health officials have warned of resurgence ofCOVID-19.

Reports said that the stampede occurred after some attendees slipped onsteps, which caused dozens more to fall.

“It happened in a split second; people just fell, trampling each other. Itwas a disaster,” one witness told an international newspaper.

Netanyahu in a statement said, “This is one of the heaviest disasters thathit Israel. There were heartbreaking scenes here as people crushed todeath, including children. Many of the victims have not yet beenidentified”.

He also thanked the police and rescue forces “for preventing a much heavierdisaster.”

He vowed that the government “will conduct a thorough, serious and in-depthinvestigation to ensure that such a disaster does not recur.”