Meron

Over 60 people were treated for injuries and 23 hospitalized as thousands breach military cordons to reach the restricted holy site of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's tomb

Police cancel this year's pilgrimage to Mt. Meron for Lag BaOmer, citing security concerns amid war with Hezbollah

Home Front Command caps gatherings at 1,500 as northern tensions and security concerns prompt major changes to annual pilgrimage event

i24NEWS has learned of dozens of busloads of ultra-Orthodox Jews planning to depart from Jerusalem and Bnei Brak to arrive en masse to the holy site for Lag B'Omer celebrations, defying IDF orders

Hundreds arrived at the holy site near the Lebanon border to hold the traditional Lag B'Omer bonfire, despite the fact that it was declared a closed military zone due to the security situation

If adopted, the recommendation would see the designation of the Meron site as a closed military zone for the duration of Lag Ba'omer

Hezbollah has launched numerous attacks against the holy site, with concerns an expected 30,000 visitors will be targeted by the terrorist group

Labor party, in a statement, asserted that the commission's inquiry unequivocally placed direct responsibility on Prime Minister Netanyahu

Israel's State Commission investigated the 2021 crush, during which 45 people were killed during the Lag Ba'omer holiday

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the man who escaped the Romans to lay the foundations of one of the most influential spiritual movements in history – Jewish Kabbalah

Thousands of police forces will secure the event, using helicopters, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles and drones

Only 200,000 people will be allowed to visit the site with pre-booked tickets

More than 4,000 people go missing in Israel every year, and while the trail to many of the cases often goes cold, a civilian dog unit never loses hope

'When there was the disaster in Meron, they say that the minister who was responsible was infected with this disease,' the rabbi says, referring to Amir Ohana

State panel probing last year's tragedy in northern Israel also sent notices to Shabtai, Ohana, Lavi

'A disaster could happen at any moment. You can't respond to every single one,' Benjamin Netanyahu says

Several other officers are also expected to receive warning letters, holding them accountable for the incident

'Officer Lavi is a leader, commander and, no less than that, a humane and warm person,' says Omer Barlev

Approximately eight thousand police members were deployed around the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai

The three were found with plies, boxcutters and spray paint in bags

'Any damage done to infrastructure... could pose a real danger to those who wish to visit the site'

'This is a complicated event... there are many changes that were done to the site and to the way things were'

Wednesday’s increased traffic also prompted a number of road closures

'Without the engineering failure, no disaster would have happened'