Israel crush: ‘Yedidya, to my great sorrow, did not survive’

The funeral of 13-year-old Yedidya Hayut has taken place after he was killed in a crush in Israel.

Speaking before his son’s funeral Avigdor Hayut described him as a “righteous” and “saintly child”.

Forty-five men and boys died and around 150 people were injured at the Lag B’Omer festival in northern Israel, when they became trapped in an overcrowded passageway.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the incident one of Israel’s worst peacetime disasters, and pledged to hold an inquiry to ensure such a tragedy cannot happen again.