Queen Elizabeth issues statement on Israeli stampede

Queen Elizabeth on Thursday issued statement on Israeli stampede  which killed  more than 45 people  at a religious festival.

In a statement issued on social media, the British monarch said, "I was deeply saddened by news of the disaster at the Lag B'Omer festival in Meron. Israel."

She added, "My Thoughts are with all those who have been injured, and the friends and families of those who lost their lives. They have my deepest sympathies."

Medical teams worked on Friday to identify 45 people crushed to death in a stampede at a religious festival on the slopes of Israel’s Mount Meron, with children among the dead.

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had thronged to the tomb of 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai for the annual Lag B'Omer commemorations that include all-night prayer, mystical songs and dance.

The festival was segregated by gender, and medics said the injuries and deaths were concentrated in the men's section.