Medics treated 2,741 people over Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, which began Tuesday at sundown and ended Wednesday evening, according to figures from the Magen David Adom emergency service.
The Jewish Day of Atonement is marked by fasting and intense prayer by many observant Jews, while secular Israelis take advantage of the deserted roads and highways, filling the streets in droves over the holiday.
Medics also delivered one baby.
The emergency service said 1,920 of those treated were taken to the hospital for further medical care.
Three people were seriously hurt on the roads. A pedestrian, 33, was seriously injured on Route 4 near Aluf Sadeh junction. A motorbike rider, 19, was seriously injured in the central city of Tira, and another person was seriously injured in a road accident near the Gadot Forest.
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Another 19 people were moderately injured in accidents around the country, and 19 were lightly injured.
People walk on the empty road at the entrance to Jerusalem, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, October 5, 2022. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
There were 285 bicycle scooter and skateboard riders who needed treatment for injuries on roads, including six who were moderately injured.
Also, 133 expectant mothers were taken to the hospital, MDA reported, with medics assisting one woman in Jerusalem to deliver her baby.
In addition, a man, 22, was injured in a pool accident at a bed and breakfast in Ramot near the Sea of Galilee. He was taken in serious condition.
MDA said 268 people were treated for dehydration or fainting brought on by fasting.
Israelis ride their bicycles along the empty Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and the holiest of Jewish holidays, October 5, 2022. (Flash90)
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu felt unwell during a Yom Kippur service Wednesday evening and after checks at the synagogue where he was praying, he had himself driven to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
According to a statement on behalf of the Likud party leader, Netanyahu, 72, began to feel unwell during prayers, at Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue.
The holiday also saw violence in the coastal city of Bat Yam, where on Tuesday, shortly before the start of Yom Kippur, a mob attacked a car, turning the vehicle over.
According to Hebrew-language media reports, the driver and passengers were all Arab and from the south of the country.
Police were called to the scene and extracted one of the men from the crowd, taking him to a local police station before he was transferred to hospital for treatment.
As sundown approached on Tuesday, all local radio and television broadcasts gradually fell silent. Public transport was also halted, with buses and trains stopping their routes and Israeli air space closed to flights passing through.
For paramedics, Yom Kippur is one of the busiest days of the year, with hundreds of extra medics, paramedics, ambulances, and volunteers deployed across the country. Hospitals were working with limited emergency medical crews only.
Last year, a 12-year-old cyclist was killed when he was hit by a car.
