Dozens of people were crushed to death in a stampede that broke out in the early hours of Friday morning at the prayer compound, where tens of thousands of mostly ultra-Orthodox worshippers had gathered. At least 45 people were confirmed dead and 150 people were injured, with dozens in serious condition and several defined as critical.
Visiting the scene later Friday morning, the prime minister said, "The disaster at Mount Meron is one of the most difficult tragedy's to strike Israel. We will conduct a thorough investigation to make sure this type of tragedy never happens again.
"Sunday will be a national day of mourning. Let us all come together and pray for the victims and their families and for the wounded's speedy recovery," he said.
The incident happened at around 1 a.m. but the specific cause of the disaster at the main celebration honoring Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd-century sage and mystic who is buried there, was not immediately clear.
Initial reports said a stand had collapsed at one of the services where thousands of people were taking part. However, Magen David Adom said the tragedy was caused by overcrowding at a narrow pass at the prayer compound.
A police official said dozens of participants in the service had "slipped" on a metal floor, falling on those around them and causing a crushing domino effect.
At around midnight Thursday, organizers had estimated that some 100,000 people were at the site, with an additional 100,000 expected to arrive by Friday morning.
Police, deployed at the compound by the thousands, shut down the event and were evacuating all the participants. Roadblocks were set up to prevent people from arriving at the scene.
The Israeli military was called in to assist in the rescue efforts, sending medics, helicopters, and specialized search and rescue teams. Efforts were compounded by the fact the mobile telephone services in the area had collapsed.
The site was so densely populated, that search and rescue authorities said there were struggling to evacuate those trapped.
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai arrived at the scene to supervise the forces personally. Police and rescue teams evacuated tens of thousands of people from the scene through the compound's parking lots.
Israel Railway began operating trains from northern station Carmiel to Tel Aviv to help clear crowds from the scene.
Magen David Adom rescue service Director-General Eli Bin said the wounded were rushed to the Ziv Hospital in Safed, the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Poriya Hospital in Tiberias, and Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.
President Reuven Rivlin called it a "heartbreaking tragedy."
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