Up to 1 million people are expected to attend the levayah of Maran Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l at 11 a.m. on Sunday, with officials expressing concern about the safety of attendees.

Tens of thousands of police and army personnel will be on hand to control the crowds.

On Motzoei Shabbos, thousands of people tried to get close to the home of Rav Chaim at 23 Rechov Rashbam in Bnei Brak, with police announcing that the Kanievsky home is now officially closed to public. Binyomin Netanyahu visited the home, but got stuck there for upwards of an hour because of the crowds.

The rabbonim of Bnei Brak, Rav Sariel Rosenberg, Rav Yehuda Silman, Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein and Rav Moshe Shaul Klein, have called for bittul melacha in Bnei Brak, for residents to tear kriah, and for people in Bnei Brak to refrain from listening to music until after the levayah.

They also asked people to stay away from Rav Chaim’s home and not to push and crowd at the levayah itself.

The levayah coordination has reached Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s desk, as Bennett discussed the matter with Police Chief Kobi Shabtai and Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev to determine the best course of action and avert a tragedy, chalilah.

The entire Bnei Brak will be shut to traffic and the Ramat Gan Stadium will be transformed into a helicopter landing pad for evacuations, if necessary. Various segments of the IDF, including its 669 rescue unit, will be on alert and ready to assist as necessary.

Extra busses and trains will be available to Bnei Brak all morning.

Shabtai called the levayah an “event of unprecedented proportions.”

“This is a national event, one of the biggest the State of Israel will experience,” he said. “Israel Police’s goal is to make sure that the levayah proceeds without a problem and that every person who wishes to pay respects to the rav can do so safely.”

Many major roads and highways around the area will be blocked off. Traffic disruptions are expected on Highways 2, 5, and 6 throughout the day.

Omer Bar Lev said the levayah was “an event the magnitude of which we have not encountered before.”

{Matzav.com Israel}