Seven Palestinians were killed and three others injured in a crash between a truck and a minibus near the Petza'el Junction on Highway 90 in the Jordan Valley on Thursday, according to emergency services.
Seven of the passengers were killed in the crash, two more were injured seriously and another one moderately. The three were transferred to a hospital for further treatment; one of the injured was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Traffic in both directions on Highway 90 between the Tomer and Yafit junctions was closed by police, as well as on Highway 505 between Petza'el and Petza'el Junction.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced that a day of mourning would be held on Friday for the seven Palestinians who died in the crash.
"When we arrived at the scene the sight was shocking," said MDA paramedic Yonatan Shanbay. "We saw a truck and a private vehicle crushed on the side of the road. Ten injured, of whom seven were injured in critical condition with some outside the vehicle and some trapped in the vehicle.
"We did a quick initial triage on the spot and performed medical examinations, together with an IDF medical force, provided medical treatment and performed resuscitation operations, at the end of which we were forced to determine the deaths of seven of the injured."
"When I arrived at the scene, I saw a lot of commotion, some of the minibus passengers were lying on the road with no signs of life; firefighters worked at the scene to rescue other wounded trapped inside the vehicle," said Mila Liani, a ZAKA volunteer.
"Unfortunately, MDA teams had to determine the deaths of seven casualties on the spot; two of the injured are in critical condition and another moderately injured person was evacuated to hospital. The ZAKA Judea and Samaria District team is handling the respect of the dead at the scene of the serious accident."
Magen David Adom (MDA) and Israel Fire and Rescue Service teams were at the scene; helicopters were called to the scene to transfer the wounded.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz expressed condolences in Arabic to the families who lost their loved ones in the car crash and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. Gantz additionally thanked emergency services for the treatment and evacuation of the casualties.
2021 was the deadliest year for road safety in the last four years, according to a report released by the National Road Safety Authority in December, which presents road safety statistics and compares them to the average statistics of the three previous years.
The report shows that 361 people died as a result of fatal car accidents last year, which is an 11% rise from the three previous years during which an average of 326 people died annually.