38 people killed in stampede at religious festival in Israel

By Mustafa Develi

JERUSALEM (AA) - At least 38 people were killed and 65 injured early Friday in a stampede at a Jewish religious festival in northern Israel.

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the incident happened at Mount Meron near the northern town of Safed, where the Lag baOmer holiday was being celebrated.

Citing Israeli medical teams, Haaretz said 24 of the injured were in serious condition.

Six ambulance helicopters were sent to the region for the evacuation of those in severe condition and many medical teams arrived at the scene.

The incident was a "tragedy" and they pray for the healing of the injured, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter.