An independent commission investigating the deadly crush at a religious festival in northern Israel last year said Tuesday that then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other high-ranking officials could be found partly responsible for the disaster, AP reported.

The statement could hurt Netanyahu, who is already on trial for corruption, ahead of the Nov. 1 election in which he hopes to become prime minister again. Last month, Netanyahu testified that he was not responsible for the lack or noncompliance with security measures at the site.

Forty-five people died in a deadly stampede during a religious festival on Mount Meron in April 2021, attended by some 100,000 mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews. It was the worst civilian disaster in Israeli history, occurring amid long-standing warnings about the safety and overcrowding of the festival site.

An independent commission set up to investigate the disaster said that Netanyahu, who had been prime minister for the past 12 years, "knew or should have known" that the site had not been properly maintained over the years.

Former Prime Minister Netanyahu did not take the actions expected of a prime minister to remedy the situation, the opinion said, which also stated that the issue had been raised repeatedly in the government before the tragedy.

The commission issued similar warnings to Amir Ohana, the former public security minister, Rabbi Yaakov Avitan, the former minister of religious affairs, and Yaakov Shabtai, the current Israeli police chief. They will have the opportunity to testify again before the commission's final report, which is expected in the coming months.

Last week, Israel's Northern Police District chief Shimon Lavi resigned, taking responsibility for the disaster.

In his testimony before the commission last month, Netanyahu said that he was not in charge of security measures and only intervened because of the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, the leadership of the Ministry of Health limited attendance at outdoor events to 500 people.

Netanyahu also said that he did more than his predecessors to address security concerns.

An independent commission investigated serious safety violations and overcrowding at the mountaintop venue and recommended limiting attendance and reviewing safety protocols and infrastructure.