Bus kills 18-year-old during mass protest by ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem against conscription

A mass protest in Jerusalem by ultra-Orthodox Jews against conscription in the Israeli army led to a tragic accident last night, in which a teenager was run over and killed after a man driving a bus plowed into the crowd, Reuters reported.

Israeli police said they had detained the bus driver and were investigating the case. Video from the scene of the incident showed a bus plowing into a crowd of ultra-Orthodox Jews during the demonstration, which was attended by thousands of people. Police have not yet released the name of the driver, who is currently in custody.

Israel's emergency service "Magen David Adom" reported that the 18-year-old who was trapped under the bus died at the scene.

According to reports in the "Times of Israel" newspaper, leading rabbis called for last night's protest in Jerusalem. The Israeli news website Ynet reported that one of the speakers compared conscription to the Holocaust.

For decades, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel were exempt from military service, but that exemption expired about a year and a half ago. The Israeli government has failed to pass a new law that would consolidate their special status, DPA notes.

Since then, ultra-Orthodox Jews have repeatedly organized large-scale protests against military service in the Israeli army. Many see military service as a threat to their religious way of life, in part because men and women serve together.

The debate over mandatory military service and those exempted from it has long been a source of tension in deeply divided Israeli society, putting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under increasing political pressure, especially in the past year.

The issue of military service has also been a central point of tension amid the Israeli military's increased military activity. In the past two years, Israel has suffered its highest number of military casualties in decades in conflicts involving the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, according to Reuters.