Palestinian mourners carry the body of nurse Razan al-Najar, 21, during her funeral in Khan Younis on Saturday. The young Palestinian nurse was shot dead on Friday by Israeli soldiers during clashes near the border fence in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo by Haitham Imad/EPA

June 2 (UPI) -- Funeral of a 21-year-old medic shot and killed as she was trying to give aid to a protester drew thousands of Palestinians on Saturday.

Medical workers dressed in white uniforms were part of the funeral procession for Razan al-Najjar, who witnesses say was shot by Israeli soldiers near the border fence Friday.

Witnesses said Razan was killed while trying to evacuate a wounded protester lying on the Israeli side of the fence after cutting a hole to get through.

She was wearing her medic's vest as she approached the fence with both of her arms raised to show Israeli soldiers she posed no threat but was shot in the chest, according to the witnesses.

The protests, dubbed the Great March of Return, began as a six-week campaign organized by Palestinians to rally on Fridays near the Gaza-Israel border to demand Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to what is now Israel.

Since the conflict began in March, more than 120 Palestinians have been killed at the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials say they have a right to defend the border during Palestinian protests at the fence.

The Israeli military on Saturday said that it would investigate the death but said its troops worked "in accordance with standard operating procedures."

"The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) constantly works to draw operational lessons and reduce the number of casualties in the area of the Gaza Strip security fence," according to a statement. "Unfortunately, the Hamas terror organization deliberately and methodically places civilians in danger."

On Friday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley vetoed a resolution that would have offered "international protection" for Palestinian civilians.

Kuwait introduced the resolution to the U.N. Security Council as a response to recent violent escalations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces on the Gaza Strip.</s>Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of medical workers in white uniforms, took part on Saturday in the funeral procession of a colleague who was shot dead by Israeli troops the previous day along the Israel-Gaza border.

Relatives say 21-year-old Razan Najjar was a volunteer paramedic who had helped evacuate and treat the wounded during weeks of cross-border violence. She is the second female fatality out of more than 115 killed since the deadly border protest campaign began in late March.

After the funeral, dozens of mourners headed to the fence and started throwing stones at the Israeli soldiers on the other side. The Palestinian Health Ministry said five protesters were wounded by Israeli fire.

In the West Bank, the Israeli military said its troops shot dead a Palestinian who tried to ram a tractor into its forces.

In pictures: 'Bloodiest day in Israel-Palestine conflict' as US moves embassy to Jerusalem

The military said its initial investigation revealed that a 35-year-old Palestinian from a village near Hebron tried to run over an officer with a Bobcat tractor. The attacker then turned around and tried to attack nearby Israeli civilians, the military said.

It said a soldier opened fire, killing the assailant. No Israeli troops were harmed.

Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 50 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks.

Over 260 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in that time. Israel says most were attackers. The attacks have petered off in recent months as the Palestinian focus has shifted toward mass protests at the Gaza border.

On Friday, the Palestinians protested for the 10th week in a row. The military said some hurled grenades and pipe bombs at troops behind the security fence. Some 40 Palestinians were wounded and Najjar was the only one killed.

The Khan Younis hospital said Najjar had a gunshot wound in the chest with an exit wound in the back.

The military said its troops operated “in accordance with standard operating procedures” and that it was investigating the incident. Israel insists that throughout the weeks-long campaign it has only opened fire at instigators and that Hamas has been cynically using the demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks.

On Saturday, the military said it thwarted a Palestinian attempt to damage the security fence surrounding Gaza and a group of militants briefly entered Israel before fleeing back into Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire.

However, Palestinians and human rights groups have accused Israeli forces of using excessive force on some occasions, and of killing Palestinians who did not pose an imminent threat both in the West Bank and Gaza.

Najjar's body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag as the funeral procession started from the hospital and passed near her home in Khuzaa, a village near the Khan Younis that is close to the border and has served as one of five protest encampments across Gaza in recent weeks. She was the eldest of six siblings.

“I want the world to hear my voice ... what's my daughter's fault?” asked her mother Sabreen, dressed in black and seated on a mattress in her living room. “She will leave a large emptiness at home.”

On May 14, when the protests peaked over the opening of the United Stated embassy in Jerusalem, a 14-year-old girl, Wessal Sheikh Khalil, was the first female protesters to be shot dead. She was among more than 60 people killed that day, the deadliest since a war between Hamas and Israel ended in 2014.

The Gaza protests are being organised by the territory's militant Hamas leadership and are aimed at drawing attention to the decade-long Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the territory. The protesters are also demanding the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war and their descendants.

Fares al-Kidra, a colleague of Najjar, said they were approaching the fence to evacuate a wounded man and, as they were leaving, three gunshots were heard and Najjar fell to the ground.

Al-Mezan, a Gaza-based rights group, said Najjar was 100 metres from the fence and wearing a clearly marked paramedic's vest when she was shot.

Social media videos, and one captured by Associated Press footage, showed Najjar and a cohort of medics walking toward the fence and raising their hands to reach a wounded man lying on the ground.

Najjar wore a dark blue headscarf and a white coat with the logo of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, where she volunteered.

Izzat Shatat, 23, a volunteering ambulance worker, said he and Najjar were set to announce their engagement at the end of the holy month of Ramazan. He said he was worried and asked her not to go to the border area on Friday but she refused.

“She helped all people. She has never refused to help. She was the first to run toward anybody when he is shot,” he said in tears.</s>Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of medical workers in white uniforms, took part on Saturday in the funeral procession of a colleague who was shot dead by Israeli troops the previous day along the Israel-Gaza border.

 Relatives say 21-year-old Razan Najjar was a volunteer paramedic who had helped evacuate and treat the wounded during weeks of cross-border violence. She is the second female fatality out of more than 115 killed since the deadly border protest campaign began in late March.

 After the funeral, dozens of mourners headed to the fence and started throwing stones at the Israeli soldiers on the other side. The Palestinian Health Ministry said five protesters were wounded by Israeli fire.

 In the West Bank, the Israeli military said its troops shot dead a Palestinian who tried to ram a tractor into its forces.

 In pictures: ‘Bloodiest day in Israel-Palestine conflict’ as US moves embassy to Jerusalem

 The military said its initial investigation revealed that a 35-year-old Palestinian from a village near Hebron tried to run over an officer with a Bobcat tractor. The attacker then turned around and tried to attack nearby Israeli civilians, the military said.

 It said a soldier opened fire, killing the assailant. No Israeli troops were harmed.

 Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 50 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks.

 Over 260 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in that time. Israel says most were attackers. The attacks have petered off in recent months as the Palestinian focus has shifted toward mass protests at the Gaza border.

 On Friday, the Palestinians protested for the 10th week in a row. The military said some hurled grenades and pipe bombs at troops behind the security fence. Some 40 Palestinians were wounded and Najjar was the only one killed.

 The Khan Younis hospital said Najjar had a gunshot wound in the chest with an exit wound in the back.

 The military said its troops operated “in accordance with standard operating procedures” and that it was investigating the incident.—Agencies</s>Thousands of Palestinians attended the funeral Saturday of a young female volunteer medic killed by Israeli fire in violence on the border in southern Gaza.

Razan al-Najar, 21, a volunteer with the Gaza health ministry, was fatally shot in the chest near Khan Yunis on Friday.

Ambulances and medical crews attended the funeral, with her father holding the white blood-stained medics' jacket she wore when she was shot, as mourners called for revenge.

Gazans have since March 30 staged border protests demanding the return of Palestinians to land they fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation, now inside the Jewish state.

The demonstrations are accompanied by smaller clashes as youths hurl stones at Israeli soldiers and attempt to breach the border fence, at times laying explosive devices on the fence or throwing grenades.

The Israeli army on Saturday said the previous day's violence included "thousands of rioters" at five locations along the border, "burning tires adjacent to the security fence and attempting to damage security infrastructure."

Shots were fired at an army vehicle and a Palestinian had crossed into Israel, planted a grenade and returned to Gaza, it said.

The army said that cases such as Najar's "in which civilians are allegedly killed" by Israeli fire "are thoroughly examined" by an internal military committee.

The U.N. envoy for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, said in a tweet that "Medical workers are #NotATarget!" and that "Israel needs to calibrate its use of force and Hamas need to prevent incidents at the fence."

The Palestinian Medical Relief Society said Najar was shot "as she was attempting to provide first aid to an injured protester," with three other first responders also hit by live fire on Friday.

"Shooting at medical personnel is a war crime under the Geneva conventions," the PMRC said in a statement, demanding "an immediate international response to Israeli humanitarian law violations in Gaza."</s>Thousands at funeral for Gaza volunteer killed on Israel border

GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Thousands of Palestinians attended the funeral Saturday of a young female volunteer medic killed by Israeli fire in violence on the border in southern Gaza.

Razan al-Najjar, 21, a volunteer with the Gaza health ministry, was fatally shot in the chest near Khan Yunis on Friday.

Ambulances and medical crews attended the funeral, with her father holding the white blood-stained medics´ jacket she wore when she was shot, as mourners called for revenge.

Gazans have since March 30 staged border protests demanding the return of Palestinians to land they fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war surrounding Israel´s creation, now inside the Jewish state.

The demonstrations are accompanied by smaller clashes as youths hurl stones at Israeli soldiers and attempt to breach the border fence, at times laying explosive devices on the fence or throwing grenades.

Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave have also been using kites carrying cans on fire to set ablaze Israeli fields, torching extensive patches of agricultural land near Gaza.

Following the funeral, several Gazans were wounded in clashes east of Khan Yunis, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.

The Israeli army said “a terror cell” had infiltrated from southern Gaza. Soldiers shot at the Palestinians, who returned to the enclave.

On the Friday clashes, the army said it had included “thousands of rioters” at five locations along the border, “burning tires adjacent to the security fence and attempting to damage security infrastructure”.

Shots were fired at an army vehicle and a Palestinian had crossed into Israel, planted a grenade and returned to Gaza, it said. The army said that cases such as Najjar´s “in which civilians are allegedly killed” by Israeli fire “are thoroughly examined” by an internal military committee.

The UN envoy for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, said in a tweet that “Medical workers are #NotATarget!” and that “Israel needs to calibrate its use of force and Hamas need to prevent incidents at the fence.” The Palestinian Medical Relief Society said Najjar was shot “as she was attempting to provide first aid to an injured protester”, with three other first responders also hit by live fire on Friday.

“Shooting at medical personnel is a war crime under the Geneva conventions,” the PMRC said in a statement, demanding “an immediate international response to Israeli humanitarian law violations in Gaza”.

Najjar´s death brings the toll of Gazans killed by Israeli fire since the end of March to 123.

The demonstrations and clashes peaked on May 14 when at least 61 Palestinians were killed in clashes as tens of thousands of Gazans protested the US transfer of its embassy in Israel to the disputed city of Jerusalem the same day.

Low-level demonstrations have continued since. Speaking at Najjar´s funeral, Khaled al-Batsh, one of the protest organisers, called on Gazans to “continue the return marches and break the (Israeli) siege with peaceful tools”.</s>A 21-year-old Palestinian paramedic was shot dead in the chest by Israeli military Friday in the Gaza Strip while wearing the white uniform of a medic, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Thousands of Palestinians thronged to the Israeli border in the eastern Gaza Strip, marking the 10th weekly protest aimed at drawing attention to the crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade and demanding the right for Palestinians to return to former homes in what's now Israel.

The health ministry said Razan Najjar, 21, died of a gunshot wound to the chest, and over 100 people were injured, 40 of them by live fire.

Witnesses said Najjar was a volunteer paramedic who took part in treating wounded protesters during the weekly demonstrations.

The crowds gathered at five tent camps near the border fence separating Israel and the Gaza. Dozens of youths approached the fence, burning tires and hurling rocks at Israeli troops behind the fence.

The Israeli military said in a statement that Palestinian protesters attacked the border fence during Friday's protests and troops responded with "riot dispersal means." The army also said that a military vehicle came under fire, and a grenade planted on the fence exploded. No Israeli troops were injured.

Israel fired dozens of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip after a mortar attack from Gaza, the largest operation in the Gaza Strip since a 2014 war with Hamas.

Egyptian mediation efforts successfully restored the cease-fire that has largely held since the end of a 50-day war between Israel and Gaza resistance groups in 2014.

Friday's protests were the latest in a series of demonstrations orchestrated weekly by Hamas since late March. Tensions soared on May 14, when the U.S. relocated its embassy to contested Jerusalem. Over 60 Palestinians were killed that day.

Since March 30, Israeli fire has killed more than 115 Palestinians, most of them unarmed protesters, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Organizers of the protests vowed to continue them until the blockade — imposed after Hamas forcibly seized control of the coastal enclave in 2007 after winning legislative elections a year earlier — is lifted. They also called for a high turnout for Tuesday's protests, which mark the 51st anniversary of the Six Day War, in which Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

Demonstrators at Friday's protests waved Kuwaiti flags to thank the Persian Gulf state for blocking a U.S. bid to condemn Gaza rocket fire at the Security Council earlier this week.

Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas official who joined the protest east of Gaza City, praised the turnout despite Ramadan.

"Those who bet on dwindling participation are proved to be wrong today," he told reporters.</s>Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of medical workers in white uniforms, took part Saturday in the funeral procession of a colleague who was shot dead by Israeli troops the previous day along the Israel–Gaza border.

Razan Najjar, a 21-year-old volunteer paramedic, was shot as she tried to help evacuate wounded near Israel’s perimeter fence with Gaza. She was the second woman among more than 115 Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli army fire since Gaza border protests began in late March.

UN officials condemned the killing of Najjar, saying that witness reports indicated she wore clothing that clearly identified her as a health worker.

“The killing of a clearly identified medical staffer by security forces during a demonstration is particularly reprehensible,” said Jamie McGoldrick, the local U.N. humanitarian coordinator.

READ MORE: U.S. vetoes United Nations resolution condemning violence against Palestinians in Gaza

After Najjar’s funeral, dozens of mourners headed to the fence and started throwing stones at the Israeli soldiers on the other side. The Palestinian Health Ministry said five protesters were wounded by Israeli fire.

Later Saturday, in a development that threatened to collapse an informal cease-fire, the Israeli military said two projectiles were fired from Gaza. One was intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system and the other landed inside Gaza. Earlier this week, Gaza militants fired a large barrage at Israel, which responded with heavy strikes on Gaza installations.

Early Sunday, the Israeli military said fighter jets attacked three Hamas military compounds in response to the rocket fire. It said it struck a total of 10 targets, including weapons manufacturing and storage sites. Militants responded by firing another projectile that was intercepted, the army said.

WATCH: Israel army spokesman explains most severe military flare-up with Gaza since 2014

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the Israeli military said its troops shot dead a Palestinian who tried to ram a tractor into its forces.

The military said its initial investigation revealed that a 35-year-old Palestinian from a village near Hebron tried to run over an officer with a Bobcat tractor. The attacker then turned around and tried to attack nearby Israeli civilians, the military said.

It said a soldier opened fire, killing the assailant. No Israeli troops were harmed.

READ MORE: Gaza hospitals struggle to cope with high casualty toll following clashes at border

Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 50 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks. Over 260 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in that time. Israel says most were attackers. The attacks have petered off in recent months as the Palestinian focus has shifted toward mass protests at the Gaza border.

On Friday, the Palestinians protested for the 10th week in a row. The military said some hurled grenades and pipe bombs at troops behind the border fence. Some 40 Palestinians were wounded and Najjar was the only one killed.

The Khan Younis hospital said Najjar had a gunshot wound in the chest with an exit wound in the back.

The military said its troops operated “in accordance with standard operating procedures” and that it was investigating the incident.

Israel insists that throughout the weeks-long campaign its troops have fired only at instigators and that Hamas has been cynically using the demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks. But military officials have acknowledged shooting some people by mistake due to the crowded and smoky conditions of the protests.

On Saturday, the military said it thwarted a Palestinian attempt to damage the security fence surrounding Gaza and a group of militants briefly entered Israel before fleeing back into Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire.

Palestinians and human rights groups have accused Israeli forces of using excessive force, and of killing unarmed Palestinians who did not pose an imminent threat both in the West Bank and Gaza.

READ MORE: Thousands of Palestinians gather to bury their dead after deadly protests

Najjar’s body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag as the funeral procession started from the hospital and passed near her home in Khuzaa, a village near the Khan Younis that is close to the border and has served as one of five protest encampments across Gaza in recent weeks. She was the eldest of six siblings.

“I want the world to hear my voice … what’s my daughter’s fault?” asked her mother Sabreen, dressed in black and seated on a mattress in her living room. “She will leave a large emptiness at home.”

On May 14, when the protests peaked over the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, a 14-year-old girl, Wessal Sheikh Khalil, was the first female protesters to be shot dead. She was among more than 60 people killed that day, the deadliest since a war between Hamas and Israel ended in 2014.

The Gaza protests are being organized by the territory’s militant Hamas leadership and are aimed at drawing attention to the decade-long Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the territory. The blockade, meant to weaken Hamas, has caused widespread economic hardship in Gaza. The protesters are also demanding the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war and their descendants.

Fares al-Kidra, a colleague of Najjar, said they were approaching the fence to evacuate a wounded man and, as they were leaving, three gunshots were heard and Najjar fell to the ground.

Al-Mezan, a Gaza-based rights group, said Najjar was 100 meters from the fence and wearing a clearly marked paramedic’s vest when she was shot.

WATCH: Israeli troops deploy on border of Gaza in anticipation of further protests

Social media videos, and one captured by Associated Press footage, showed Najjar and a cohort of medics walking toward the fence and raising their hands to reach a wounded man lying on the ground. Najjar wore a dark blue headscarf and a white coat with the logo of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, where she volunteered.

Izzat Shatat, 23, a volunteering ambulance worker, said he and Najjar were set to announce their engagement at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. He said he was worried and asked her not to go to the border area Friday but she refused.

“She helped all people. She has never refused to help. She was the first to run toward anybody when he is shot,” he said in tears.</s>Hundreds of Palestinians on Saturday attended the funeral of a young Palestinian woman who was shot dead by Israeli forces a day earlier while working as a volunteer medic during protests near the Gaza-Israel boundary fence, as documented by an efe-epa journalist.

The body of Razan al-Najjar, age 21, was carried draped in the Palestinian flag and her blood-stained medical vest.

According to the human rights group Al Mezan, eyewitnesses said the young medic was shot in the back while treating injured demonstrators east of Khan Younis.

"Eyewitnesses reported that the martyr al-Najjar was about 100 meters to the west of the eastern fence at the time she was targeted, that she was helping to evacuate the wounded and provide medical assistance to them and that she was wearing a jacket with a badge showing the nature of her work as a medic," Al Mezan said in a statement Friday on its official website.

For its part, the Israeli army said Friday that "rioters are burning tires adjacent to the security fence and attempting to damage security infrastructure," and that its forces were "responding with riot dispersal means and are operating in accordance with the rules of engagement."

Around 100 Palestinians were wounded during the 10th consecutive Friday of demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, 40 of them by gunfire, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Since the Great March of Return protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed at least 123 Palestinians and wounded more than 13,000, according to Red Cross figures.

According to protest organizers, the mass demonstrations are calling for Palestinians' right to return to their homeland inside Israel and an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which has lasted over a decade.</s>Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of medical workers in white uniforms, have taken part in the funeral procession of a colleague who was shot dead by Israeli troops the previous day along the Israel-Gaza border.

Relatives say 21-year-old Razan Najjar was a volunteer paramedic who had helped evacuate and treat the wounded during weeks of cross-border violence. She is just the second female fatality out of more than 115 killed since the deadly border protest campaign began in late March.

After the funeral on Saturday, dozens of mourners headed to the fence and started throwing stones at the Israeli soldiers on the other side. The Palestinian Health Ministry said five protesters were wounded by Israeli fire.

Later on Saturday, in a development that threatens to collapse an informal ceasefire, the Israeli military said two projectiles were fired from Gaza. One was intercepted by the Iron Dome defence system and the other landed inside Gaza.

Earlier this week, Gaza militants fired a large barrage at Israel, which responded with heavy strikes against Gaza installations.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the Israeli military said its troops shot dead a Palestinian who tried to ram a tractor into its forces.

The military said its initial investigation revealed that a 35-year-old Palestinian from a village near Hebron tried to run over an officer with a Bobcat tractor. The attacker then turned around and tried to attack nearby Israeli civilians, the military said.

It said a soldier opened fire, killing the assailant. No Israeli troops were harmed.

On Friday, the Palestinians protested for the 10th week in a row. The military said some hurled grenades and pipe bombs at troops behind the security fence. About 40 Palestinians were wounded and Najjar was the only one killed.

The Khan Younis hospital said Najjar had a gunshot wound in the chest with an exit wound in the back.

Najjar's body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag as the funeral procession started from the hospital and passed near her home in Khuzaa, a village near the Khan Younis that is close to the border and has served as one of five protest encampments across Gaza in recent weeks. She was the eldest of six siblings.</s>Thousands of mourners have attended the funeral of a young volunteer medic, described as 'an angel', who was killed by Israeli fire in violence on the border in southern Gaza.

Razan al-Najjar, 21, a volunteer emergency medical worker with the Gaza health ministry, was fatally shot in the chest near Khan Yunis on Friday.

Her funeral took place hours after the Israeli military reported its troops had shot dead a Palestinian who tried to ram a tractor into forces stationed in the West Bank.

Their deaths brought to 119 the number of Palestinians killed in weekly demonstrations launched on March 30 in the Gaza Strip, an enclave controlled by the Islamist group Hamas and long subject to grinding Israeli and Egyptian embargoes.

Ambulances and medical crews attended al-Najjar's funeral today, with her father holding the white blood-stained medics' jacket she wore when she was shot, as mourners called for revenge.

The Palestinian Medical Relief Society said al-Najjar was shot 'as she was attempting to provide first aid to an injured protester', with three other first responders also hit by live fire on Friday.

'Shooting at medical personnel is a war crime under the Geneva conventions,' the PMRS said in a statement, demanding 'an immediate international response to Israeli humanitarian law violations in Gaza'.

The UN envoy for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, said in a tweet that 'Medical workers are #NotATarget!' and that 'Israel needs to calibrate its use of force and Hamas need to prevent incidents at the fence.'

Among the mourners attending al-Najjar's funeral were some she had treated when they were wounded at previous border protests. Her body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag and carried through the streets on a stretcher by mourners.

'With our souls and blood we redeem you martyr Razan,' cried mourners as the body was brought to her home for a last farewell before burial.

Residents said al-Najjar was a popular figure at the protest sites and pictures depicting her as an angel circulated on Palestinian social media.

The Israeli military said on Saturday it was investigating the apparent killing by its troops of the Palestinian volunteer during protests along the Gaza border.

It said that deaths such as al-Najjar's 'in which civilians are allegedly killed' by Israeli fire 'are thoroughly examined' by an internal military committee.

The Israeli military confirmed that its troops shot dead a Palestinian who tried to ram a tractor into forces stationed in the West Bank.

Its initial investigation revealed that a 35-year-old Palestinian from a village near Hebron tried to run over an officer with a Bobcat tractor. The attacker then turned around and tried to attack nearby Israeli civilians, the military said.

It added that a soldier opened fire, killing the assailant. No Israeli troops were harmed.

Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 50 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks.

Over 260 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in that time. Israel says most were attackers. The attacks have petered off in recent months as the Palestinian focus has shifted toward mass protests on the Gaza border.

On Friday, the Palestinians protested for the tenth week in a row. The military said some hurled grenades and pipe bombs at troops behind the security fence.

Since March 30, Gazans have staged border protests demanding the return of Palestinians to land they fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation, now inside the Jewish state.

The demonstrations are accompanied by smaller clashes as youths hurl stones at Israeli soldiers and attempt to breach the border fence, at times laying explosive devices on the fence or throwing grenades.

Palestinians have also been using kites carrying cans on fire to set ablaze Israeli fields, torching extensive patches of agricultural land near Gaza.

The Israeli army said today that Friday's violence included 'thousands of rioters' at five locations along the border, 'burning tires adjacent to the security fence and attempting to damage security infrastructure'.

Shots were fired at an army vehicle and a Palestinian had crossed into Israel, planted a grenade and returned to Gaza, it said.

Israel has drawn international condemnation for its use of deadly force during such mass demonstrations. But it has said that many of those killed were Hamas members and militants trying to launch attacks under cover of the protests.

The Palestinians say most of the dead and the thousands wounded were unarmed civilians against whom Israel was using excessive force.

In a statement published by the Palestinian official news Agency Wafa on Friday, Health Minister Jawad Awwad condemned al-Najjar's killing and said it violated international law.

The Israeli military said in its statement: 'The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) constantly works to draw operational lessons and reduce the number of casualties in the area of the Gaza Strip security fence. Unfortunately, the Hamas terror organization deliberately and methodically places civilians in danger.'

On Friday the United States, Israel's ally, vetoed a Kuwaiti-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that condemned Israel's use of force against Palestinian civilians.

Later, a second, U.S.-drafted resolution that blamed Hamas for the violence and upheld Israel's right to defend itself failed to attract any other country's support when it was put to vote in the 15-member council.
The funeral of a 21-year-old medic, Razan al-Najjar, draws thousands of Palestinians. Witnesses say that Razan was killed while trying to evacuate a wounded protester lying on the Israeli side of the fence.