April 30, 2021 – Disaster struck at this year’s Lag B’Omer celebrations on Northern Israel’s Mount Meron, where more than 100,000 people gathered last night to mark the holiday. More than 40 people were killed and more than 150 people were injured.

Hundreds of Rambam Health Care Campus employees from the Trauma and Emergency Center, the Division of Nursing, the Department of Social Work, the Department of Transport, and the hospital’s management rushed to the hospital following the announcement by the Israeli Police of a mass casualty event at approximately 1:40 AM Israel time last night.

During the night, seven casualties were brought to Rambam: four are in critical condition on respirators, one is in moderate condition, and the rest are in good condition. Several of the wounded arrived by ambulance from other hospitals in the north and others were flown directly to Rambam from the site of the disaster.

Gil Alon (47), one of the patients who was slightly injured and treated at Rambam, describes what happened, “I was rescued thanks to two people. I was lying on someone and someone was lying on me. We made sure to keep our airways open. The weight was heavy and I feared for my life.”

Rambam has set up a hotline to field inquiries from the public and is receiving numerous calls from parents and relatives trying to find out the identities of the anonymous patients. The hotline is staffed by social workers who question the callers in order to ascertain whether the details they provide can be matched to any of the casualties.

“Rambam is fully prepared on all levels to receive and care for all of the wounded and to assist the other northern hospitals. The helicopter pad is ready to receive helicopters, and the hospital teams are available to deal with any challenges later on,” stated Rambam’s General Director Dr. Michael Halberthal.

Rambam’s hotline: 1255144 (to call from outside of Israel: +972-1255144).

In the photo: One of the injured, Gil Alon, speaks to the press at the entrance to Rambam’s Wagner-Green Department of Emergency Medicine.

In the photo: Rambam teams ready to treat wounded from the Mount Meron disaster.