We go to Gaza for a live update from Sharif Abdel Kouddous as tens of thousands of Palestinians have gathered near the heavily fortified border with Israel for nonviolent protests against the U.S. Embassy's opening in Jerusalem. At the time of our broadcast, the Israeli military had killed at least 30 Palestinians, and least 1,000 had been injured. "No one is carrying any weapons here. There are no bullets being fired by Palestinians on Israeli soldiers. " And yet these killings continue," Kouddous says. This comes as senior members of the Trump administration have gathered in Jerusalem for the embassy's opening.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We begin today's show in Gaza, where the Israeli military has killed at least 30 Palestinians, at this count, today, amidst the massive nonviolent protests against the U.S. Embassy's opening in Jerusalem, later, after this broadcast. At least 1,000 people have been injured. Israeli soldiers are currently firing live ammunition into the crowd of tens of thousands of Palestinian protesters, who have gathered in Gaza near the heavily fortified border with Israel. The Israeli military has also been dropping tear gas from drones over Gaza.

This comes as senior members of the Trump administration have gathered in Jerusalem for the opening of the U.S. Embassy, including President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, White House senior adviser; her husband, senior adviser Jared Kushner; and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Jared Kushner is expected to lay out the Trump administration's plan for Middle East peace in the coming weeks. The Trump administration's decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem has sparked widespread international condemnation, while it's been praised by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke on Sunday.

AMY GOODMAN: Two controversial pastors have been chosen by the Trump administration to lead prayers at the U.S. Embassy's opening. The right-wing preacher Robert Jeffress, who has previously said, quote, "Islam is a false religion inspired by Satan," and that, quote, "You can't be saved by being a Jew," he's anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-Mormon, anti-gay.

For more, we go to Gaza, where we're joined by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, independent journalist, Democracy Now! correspondent.

Sharif, welcome back to Democracy Now! Explain what's happening in Gaza right now, as the U.S. Embassy is about to be opened, symbolically, in Jerusalem.

SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Well, Amy, there's just a simply massive protest all along the eastern border of Gaza, the border with Israel, throughout the entire length of the Strip, from the north in Beit Hanoun, to the south in Rafah. I was at the biggest protest site, which is just east of Gaza City. There are thousands of people converging on the site -- men, women and children. And it's a really surreal scene. There are people gathering, mostly young men and boys, up near the border, where there is barbed wire, three sets of barbed wire. And you can see, just a couple of hundred yards away, Israeli soldiers, you know, under these canopies, on mounds of sand, sometimes in jeeps, and they are picking people off with -- snipers are literally picking people off. I've seen people who weren't even close to the fence being shot. Most of the people are being shot in the lower extremities, in their legs. I saw one person shot in the throat. The latest numbers -- they keep going up -- somewhere between 28 and 30 killed, including a paramedic and a disabled person. There's a thousand wounded today, including nine journalists. That brings the total, since this movement began, this kind of somewhat unprecedented movement in Gaza, since March 30th, to 74 people killed and over 9,000 injured.

And, you know, there's -- no one is carrying any weapons here. There are no bullets being fired by Palestinians on Israeli soldiers. There's nothing I have seen that poses any threat to the Israeli military. Not a single Israeli soldier has been injured. And yet these killings continue. People insist that this is peaceful. There are no military uniforms allowed. There are no weapons allowed. Despite the fact that there are very heavily armed groups in Gaza, this was a decision that was made by a group of -- by the committees that are running this movement. People throw rocks. They burn tires, large tires, which send huge plumes of black smoke into the air, to try and block the view of the snipers. They also send these kites and balloons, which have either a burning rag or an improvised Molotov cocktail dangling off the end, and they try and guide it over, over the border.

And what most people are doing, it's just the very act of walking to the border. Some people go and place the Palestinian flag on the barbed wire. Some people do go and cut the wire and try and cross, saying that they are implementing the right of return themselves. But it's also a way -- you know, we have to remember that people are trapped in Gaza. There's really no way out. Many people have never left the Strip, because all border crossings are closed to them, and they're not allowed to leave. And so this is a way of pushing their bodies up against their confinement. And this is also happening, all of this, in a buffer zone. We have to remember that Israel imposed a buffer zone a couple of hundred meters from the border in Gaza. And so, over the years, farmers and people living on that side of the Gaza Strip have been regularly shot at by Israeli troops from the other side. And so, even reclaiming this space in Gaza itself is, in itself, an achievement. But it's a very -- it's a very difficult situation.

And as you mentioned, there are -- well, and they're using these high-velocity sniper bullets, which cause a lot of damage. Also, a couple of doctors told me that they're using fragmentation bullets, which break apart upon impact. And they have seen injuries with fist-sized holes in the exit wounds. And most of this is being -- people are being shot in the legs. They were talking about nearly 10,000 people injured, many of them by live ammunition, many being hit in the legs. You know, it kind of reminds me of the first intifada. Israelis would break the arms of Palestinians who were throwing stones. And now it's Palestinians walking towards the border, and so they're taking out their legs. We were in Shifa Hospital. If you just walk there, I mean, there was a wailing of pain in the orthopedic wards and young men and boys walking around on crutches, many of them lying in beds, their legs bandaged up with rods and pins protruding out. One doctor told me that they're creating a new generation of cripples. There's been almost 30 amputations.

And also there's the fact of the tear gas. Tear gas comes in three different ways. It's fired by jeeps, which fire in multiple rounds, five at a time, at the crowd. They're also fired by the normal kind of rifle, that goes much further. But there's a new method, which I saw twice today, is tear gas being fired from drones. And this is a new method that Israel experimented with just a couple of weeks before these protests started. It was first used in Gaza in March. And military officials were reported as saying that they were experimenting with this, but it looks like it's now operational. And this also fits a trend of Israel kind of experimenting its tools of occupation on the bodies of Palestinians. And those tools are usually exported elsewhere. And I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing tear gas drones in other places, as well. But a really chaotic situation here.</s>Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire during protests near the border in Gaza, health officials said.

The shootings come amid growing international uproar over the Israeli military’s use of deadly force against unarmed protesters.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by live fire in a series of weekly protests led by the ruling Hamas militant group.

On Monday alone, nearly 60 people were killed in the deadliest day of violence since a 2014 war.

Palestinians resumed their protests on Tuesday, but only dozens turned out. The health ministry said the two fresh deaths occurred in separate incidents in central Gaza.

Israel claimed it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.

Meanwhile, the Israeli government has asked the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem to temporarily leave the country.

The move came after the Turkish foreign ministry temporarily expelled the Israeli ambassador in protest over Monday’s killings and the US decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu “has the blood of Palestinians on his hands”.

Mr Netanyahu retorted in a statement: “Erdogan is among Hamas’s biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.”

Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors at the United Nations have accused each other’s countries of violating international law.

The envoys spoke at a UN Security Council meeting which ended without any joint statement or action.

Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour addressed the council: “How many Palestinians have to die before you take action? When are you going to act?”

Israeli ambassador Danny Danon told the council: “You must tell Hamas that violence is not the answer.”</s>The US officially relocated its embassy to Jerusalem on Monday, formally upending decades of American foreign policy in a move that was met with clashes and protests along the Gaza-Israeli border.

Here is what we know:

At least 58 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during Monday and Tuesday clashes, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Israeli soldiers have killed more than 100 people since the latest wave of protests began in March, according to a CNN count based on the Palestinian Ministry of Health figures.

The dead include 8-month-old Laila Anwar Ghandour, who died of tear-gas asphyxiation, the Ministry of Health said. Most of the dead were killed by Israeli fire near the border.

More than 2,700 people suffered injuries, according to the Palestinian officials.

Monday’s death toll was the biggest number of fatalities suffered in one day since the latest round of demonstrations began more than six weeks ago. The previous high was 17, which happened on the day the protests started on March 30.

Around 35,000 people — who the Israel Defense Forces describes as “violent rioters” — assembled in 12 locations along the border fence separating Gaza and Israel, according to the IDF.

Thousands more were gathered in a tent city about a kilometer from the border.

The military said protesters threw Molotov cocktails, burned tires and threw stones at Israeli soldiers along the fence.

An Israeli jet struck five targets in a “military training facility belonging to Hamas” in northern Gaza on Monday, the Israeli military said.

While Gaza has seen the majority of the violence, protesters are facing off with Israeli authorities in the West Bank as well, but there were no deaths reported there Monday.

The Pentagon, in conjunction with the US State Department, has increased Marine Corps security forces at a number of US embassies in the Middle East and Africa in light of the unrest, according to several military officials.
• US President Donald Trump gave remarks via a prerecorded video: “Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital, yet for many years, we failed to acknowledge the obvious: the plain reality that Israel’s capital is Jerusalem.”
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized Israel’s actions in Gaza as acts of self-defense against Hamas. “Every country has an obligation to defend its borders,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.
• Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced a general strike and, beginning Tuesday, three days of mourning for those killed in Gaza. “Today is one of the most ferocious days our people have seen,” he said. “Before we were suffering from illegal Israeli settlements. Now it’s another illegal settlement by Israel and the United States.”
• Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israeli “aggressions to the Palestinian people,” and recalled ambassadors from Israel and the US, according to official Palestinian news agency WAFA. He was quoted by state-run Anadolu Agency saying “Israel is a terrorist state” and “what Israel is doing is a genocide.”
• Deputy US Secretary of State John Sullivan, who led the US delegation to the embassy opening in Jerusalem, said, “Gazans should be allowed to protest peacefully.” Sullivan further called the violence “horrific” and said of the protesters, “To have them used and provoked for violent purposes by Hamas is despicable.”
• French President Emmanuel Macron condemned “the violence of the Israeli forces against protesters,” a Élysée Palace statement read.
• The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “strong condemnation” of the use of force by Israel against Palestinian civilians, according to the official Saudi press agency.
• The Australian government called on Israel to “refrain from excessive use of force” and urged Palestinian protesters to refrain from violence.
• The African Union Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat “strongly condemns the disproportionate use of force by the Israeli Army.”
• South Africa has recalled its ambassador to Israel. A statement from the South African Foreign Ministry condemned “the latest violent aggression carried out by Israeli armed forces along the Gaza border.”
• Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner said, “We believe it is possible for both sides to gain more than they give — so that all people can live in peace — safe from danger, free from fear, and able to pursue their dreams.”
• “We remain committed to advancing a lasting and comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
• “Every nation should have the right to choose its capital. I sponsored legislation to do this two decades ago, and I applaud President Trump for doing it,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
• The United States’ decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem brings Israel closer to “annihilation,” a high-ranking Iranian official said.
• United Nations Relief and Works Agency said it was “dismayed by the deaths and injuries in Gaza today of dozens of civilians, including children.”
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres is “profoundly alarmed by the sharp escalation of violence in the occupied Palestinian territory,” one of his spokesmen said in a statement.
• Kuwait has requested a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday to address the situation in the Middle East and Gaza.
• America can “not be trusted to be fair,” and it is unclear where Trump is “taking the world and taking America,” Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech in Beirut, Lebanon.
• There is “no chance” Palestinians will engage in a US-led peace process, said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the United Nations.
• White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah said the violence doesn’t hurt the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
• The UN Human Rights chief called for an end to violent clashes in Gaza, saying in a tweet the killings “must stop now.”
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said medical teams are “stretched to the limit and are running out of essential medical supplies.”
• Doctors Without Borders called on the Israeli army to stop using deadly force against demonstrators, saying their actions were “unacceptable and inhuman.”

Trump announced the decision to move the embassy in December, when he formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It marked the fulfillment of a campaign promise he made to the pro-Israel group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The embassy move is contentious for Palestinians, who hope to claim part of the city as their future capital, and for many in the Arab world, as it is home to some of the holiest sites in Islam. The city also is home to holy sites for Jews and Christians.

In 1995, Congress passed a law requiring America to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but every president since then has declined to make the move, citing national security interests.

The State Department noted that the opening takes place on the 70th anniversary of American recognition of the Israeli state, the day of its founding and a day Palestinians refer to as “The Catastrophe,” referring to the hundreds of thousands of people who were expelled from, or fled, their homes during the war that surrounded the foundation of Israel.</s>Two Palestinians were killed and over a hundred were injured by IDF troops in clashes along the Gaza border on Tuesday.



Palestinian news agency Wafa identified one fatality as Ahmad Gharab, 51, from the Nuseirat refugee camp, saying he was shot by IDF fire. Dozens of others sustained injuries from live bullets or suffered tear gas inhalation, according to the report.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, following a joint investigation conducted by the army and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), that at least 24 of the Palestinians killed during Monday’s riots were terrorists, mostly belonging to Hamas and some to Islamic Jihad. Hamas claims a total of 62 Gazans were killed that day.Early on Tuesday, rocket sirens heard in the Eshkol region bordering the Gaza Strip sent residents into bomb shelters before being declared a false alarm by the IDF.According to the army, there were almost no Gazans visible along the fence until around 2 p.m., when buses arrived with protesters who gathered in several spots, setting tires on fire and launching incendiary kites toward Israel. In the late afternoon, IDF troops arrested several males who attempted to infiltrate Israel. The suspects were arrested near the security fence and taken for questioning.By 8 p.m., the army reported a total of some 4,000 Palestinians violently demonstrating in five locations along the border, throwing Molotov cocktails at troops and burning tires.There have been more soldiers than usual stationed on the border for two months, but they were recently reinforced by additional IDF battalions, police and border police to thwart the mass infiltration of Palestinians that Hamas had planned.Gazans have been protesting along the border for six weeks, as part of what organizers call the “Great March of Return.” But the mass protests on Monday were said by the army to be unprecedented in their level of violence, with demonstrators using grenades, incendiary kites, drones, live fire toward IDF troops and improvised explosive devices. The number of women seen taking part in the protests with their children also surprised the army.On Tuesday, the IDF released details on an attack it thwarted during the riots along the northern part of border.One attack from the northern Strip occurred after an intelligence alert was received that a Hamas squad was planning to place an explosive charge on the fence to allow for a mass infiltration of Israel.Commandos from the IDF’s Maglan unit, which specializes in operating behind enemy lines using advanced technologies and weaponry, stationed themselves opposite the expected attack point.When the squad of eight terrorists emerged from amid the violent demonstration that was taking place, two IDF armored vehicles drove over the fence and were attacked by the cell with explosives and light arms.The cell fired at troops from two locations, one a hill some 200 meters from the security fence, and another point some 30 meters from the border.Troops then engaged the cell, opening fire at them from Israeli territory while a tank and IAF aircraft struck the terrorists’ position. All eight terrorists were killed in the exchange of gunfire.“Yesterday, during a violent riot, which included the burning of tires, throwing of pipe bombs and throwing of stones, we saw shots fired at our forces and realized that Hamas operatives were the ones who carried out the shooting. Due to this, the crowd dispersed and I gave an order to fire. The fighters were operating professionally, with great courage and precision, and prevented a significant shooting attack on our forces,” a commander in the unit said.A pistol, grenade launchers, explosive charges and preparations for opening the fence were found where the firefight took place, the army said.

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`; document.getElementById("linkPremium").innerHTML = cont; (function (v, i){ });</s>Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire during protests near the border in Gaza, health officials said.

The shootings come amid growing international uproar over the Israeli military’s use of deadly force against unarmed protesters.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by live fire in a series of weekly protests led by the ruling Hamas militant group.

Medics treat Palestinian children suffering from teargas inhalation during a protest near Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip (Dusan Vranic/AP)

On Monday alone, nearly 60 people were killed in the deadliest day of violence since a 2014 war.

Palestinians resumed their protests on Tuesday, but only dozens turned out. The health ministry said the two fresh deaths occurred in separate incidents in central Gaza.

Israel claimed it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.</s>Jerusalem — Palestinian health officials in the Gaza Strip say two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire during protests near the border.

The shootings come amid growing international uproar over the Israeli military's use of deadly force against unarmed protesters.

Over 100 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by live fire in a series of weekly protests led by the ruling Hamas militant group.

On Monday alone, nearly 60 people were killed in the deadliest day of violence since a 2014 war.

Palestinians resumed their protests on Tuesday, but only dozens turned out. The Health Ministry says the deaths occurred in separate incidents in central Gaza.

Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that Monday's killing of more than 50 people on the Gaza border shows the need for a political solution to the conflict.

The UN chief said during a visit to the organization's European Union headquarters that the way out of the standoff is "a two state solution allowing Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and security together".

Guterres said it was "a terrible tragedy" and said "this only shows how important it is to have a political solution".

Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Germany feels bound by the nuclear deal with Iran — as long as Tehran upholds its side of the bargain.

US President Donald Trump announced last week that Washington was withdrawing from the 2015 accord, citing as one reason alleged evidence presented by Israel of Iran's nuclear programme.

In a phone call on Tuesday with Netanyahu, Merkel said Germany too has concerns about Iran's ballistic missile programme and its destabilising role in the region. She condemned recent Iranian attacks against Israeli positions on the Golan Heights.

Merkel also expressed concern at the violence in Gaza, but said "Germany understands Israel's security needs".

According to her office, she added that the right to peaceful protest and assembly in Gaza shouldn't be abused to provoke unrest.</s>GAZA — Palestinians were marking a day of mourning Tuesday after Israeli troops killed dozens during protests in Gaza over the controversial opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

Dozens of funerals took place across Gaza after 60 Palestinians were killed in demonstrations, according to figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Among the dead were eight children, including eight-month-old Laila Anwar Ghandour. The health ministry said the baby was asphyxiated by tear gas.

Ghandour’s funeral was held on Tuesday morning. Her mother and father cradled her body, wrapped in a white funeral shroud, before her father walked to the graveyard to bury her. Relatives said Laila was sitting in her mother’s lap when the infant inhaled the tear gas.

“They were sitting on the side. (Israeli troops) fired tear gas haphazardly. The baby girl couldn’t take it and she died,” said the girl’s father, Anwar Ghandour.

“We’re nearly done with our lives, but these poor kids have their whole lives ahead of them. What have they done wrong?” said Um Khalid al Ashram, a middle-aged Palestinian woman who was near the funeral procession.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Monday was the deadliest day in Gaza since the 2014 war. In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for three days of mourning, saying Monday’s events were “one of the most ferocious days our people have seen.”

Shops in Gaza were closed and people could be heard talking about the dead. Images of the dead and short eulogies flooded Palestinian social media. CNN journalists on the ground said it appeared that nearly every neighborhood in Gaza had lost someone in Monday’s demonstrations.

Tuesday’s funerals came on a day Palestinians call “The Catastrophe” or “Nakba,” in memory of the more than 700,000 Palestinians who were driven from or left their homes during the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war.

Israel’s military says protesters were trying to storm the border fence between Israel and Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday’s confrontations were “the determined action of the IDF and the security forces prevented a breach into Israel’s borders.”

At the protest encampments that dot Gaza’s border with Israel, the numbers of demonstrators have dwindled. Mosques and political factions that called on Palestinians to take to the border over the weekend were largely quiet on Tuesday.

Demonstrators also appeared skeptical that protests would continue. Several said they felt abandoned by political parties and protest organizers.

“It’s enough death. Those who died it’s enough,” said Mahmoud Yasser Mohammed, a demonstrator who stayed at the camps over night.

“All the youth are just coming down to take selfies. There is no point. We cut the fence and opened the way and everyone was too scared to cross and the Israelis started firing on us,” said another demonstrator Sayed Abu Nada.

Over 2,700 people suffered injuries, nearly half of them by live fire, according to the health ministry. Doctors told CNN they operated on many young men with gunshot wounds.

International condemnation has poured in over Israel’s use of force against unarmed Palestinian protesters.

Doctors Without Borders called on the Israeli army to stop using deadly force against demonstrators, saying their actions were “unacceptable and inhuman.”

“This bloodbath is the continuation of the Israeli army’s policy during the last seven weeks: shooting with live ammunition at demonstrators, on the assumption that anyone approaching the separation fence is a legitimate target,” Marie-Elisabeth Ingres, the group’s representative in Gaza, said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned “the violence of the Israeli forces against protesters.”

In a phone call with Abbas, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “condemned the attacks and wished Allah’s mercy to all martyrs,” according to the official Anadolu news agency. Turkey is recalling its ambassadors to Washington and Tel Aviv for consultations, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was “profoundly alarmed” by the violence in Gaza and urged Israeli forces to “exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire,” his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

A proposed UN Security Council press statement, put forward by Kuwait, was blocked by the US, according to a UN diplomat.

The draft statement, seen by CNN, included language expressing “outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest.”

It also reaffirmed UN resolutions on the status of Jerusalem, saying that recent events had “no legal effect” under international law. The statement was withdrawn once the US indicate that it would block it, a UN diplomat said.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip, has vowed “retaliation” for the death of the protesters.

“The shedding of our people’s blood today stains the faces of those normalizing [relations] with the Israeli Occupation and bargaining on the Palestinian cause with shame,” Al-Hayya said.

Addressing the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, he said: “the American administration bears all the consequences of the implementation of this unjust decision.”

Separately, the former head of the Hamas Political Bureau Khaled Meshaal called for Arab and international solidarity in a statement on Tuesday. “Our people, who are [rising] up in Gaza and the West Bank, call on our Arab and Islamic nation, its people, its leaders, scientists and friends in the world to stand with us at this historic moment.”

The deaths came after 35,000 protesters gathered at the border of Gaza and Israeli territory Monday to object to the embassy move, continuing the “Great March of Return” demonstrations. The protests have been taking place since March, in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel and expulsion of thousands of Palestinians.

Most of the dead were killed by Israeli fire near the border, after troops used tear gas and live ammunition to try and disperse the crowd. Israeli drones also dropped tear gas in an effort to disperse the protesters.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, of “leading a terrorist operation” and inciting the protesters to conduct what Israel described as terror attacks.

The IDF alleged some protesters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, and burned tires. It also claimed to have foiled an attack by three armed Palestinians near Rafah, close to the border with Egypt, during “a particularly violent demonstration.”

Many of the injured Palestinians were young men who were hit by live ammunition, according to British-Palestinian Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitteh, who spoke to CNN from a hospital run by a British charity in Jabaliya camp in northern Gaza.

Monday’s death toll was the biggest number of fatalities suffered in one day since the latest round of demonstrations began more than six weeks ago. The previous high was 17, which happened on the day the protests started on March 30.</s>Palestinians followed through with their vow to protest massively along the Gaza border Monday with tens of thousands demonstrating and 37 killed by Israeli fire as clashes erupted over the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

The death toll made it the deadliest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.

The 37, including a 14-year-old, were shot dead by Israeli forces as clashes broke out at five points along the Gaza border hours before the opening of the embassy.

More than 900 Palestinians were wounded in the clashes, the health ministry in Gaza said, with the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate saying eight journalists were among them.

The Israeli army said that more than 35,000 people were involved in the protests and clashes.

It accused Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas of leading a “terrorist operation under the cover of masses of people”.

The Palestinian Authority government based in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, accused Israel of carrying out a “terrible massacre”.

Also read: Beitar Trump Jerusalem – Israeli football team renamed in tribute to President

Palestinians threw stones, rolled burning tyres towards the border and tried to approach the fence to damage it and potentially break through, with Israeli snipers firing from the other side.

Bilal Fasayfes, 31, was getting on a free bus to the border with his wife and two children in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

Israeli warplanes also struck a Hamas base close to the border, the army said, saying forces had come under fire.

The army also said it killed three Palestinians seeking to plant an explosive device.

Hamas leaders had backed attempts to break through the border fence during the protest.

The protests were against the transfer of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem.

Demonstrators are also calling for Palestinian refugees who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation to be allowed to return to their homes now inside Israel.

The embassy was to be inaugurated at 16:00 (13:00 GMT).

Palestinians have been infuriated by US President Donald Trump’s December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as they consider the eastern part of the city their capital.

More than 91 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since protests and clashes began along the Gaza border on March 30.

No Israelis have been wounded and the military has faced criticism over the use of live fire.

Israel says it only opens fire when necessary to stop infiltrations, attacks and damage to the border fence, while accusing Hamas of seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence

In Khan Yunis, groups of masked young men, some carrying wooden bats, walked between shops forcing them to close to respect a general strike.

Muataz al-Najjar, 18, who was wounded four times in the last seven weeks, once from a bullet and the others from gas cannisters, said he hoped to break through the fence.

East of Gaza City, Umm Saab Habib, 60, said she was taking part “to tell Trump to remove the embassy from Jerusalem and we are returning to Jerusalem”.

At Shifa Hospital, where doctors say they are running low on crucial supplies and being forced to discharge patients early to make space for the next wave, a large tent was erected in front of the emergency room.

Faris Abu Hajaras, 50, said his family was from Jaffa, now within Israel, but he had never been there. He is a builder but said Israel’s blockade of Gaza meant there was no work.

Also read: South Africa stands to lose funding from the United States</s>Palestinians were marking a day of mourning Tuesday after Israeli troops killed dozens during protests in Gaza over the controversial opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem. Dozens of funerals were expected to take place after 60 Palestinians were killed in demonstrations, according to figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Among the dead were eight children, including eight-month-old Laila Anwar Ghandour. The health ministry said the baby was asphyxiated by tear gas.

Ghandour’s funeral was held on Tuesday morning. Her mother and father cradled her body, wrapped in a white funeral shroud, as they walked to the graveyard to bury her.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Monday was the deadliest day in Gaza since the 2014 war. In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for three days of mourning, saying Monday’s events were “one of the most ferocious days our people have seen.”

Tuesday’s funerals came on a day Palestinians call “The Catastrophe” or “Nakba,” in memory of the more than 700,000 Palestinians who were driven from or left their homes during the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war.

Israel’s military says protesters were trying to storm the border fence between Israel and Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday’s confrontations were “the determined action of the IDF and the security forces prevented a breach into Israel’s borders.”

Over 2,700 people suffered injuries, nearly half of them by live fire, according to the health ministry. Doctors told CNN they operated on many young men with gunshot wounds.

Another day of protests is expected at the Gaza border Tuesday as international condemnation poured in over Israel’s use of force against unarmed Palestinian protesters.

Doctors Without Borders called on the Israeli army to stop using deadly force against demonstrators, saying their actions were “unacceptable and inhuman.”

“This bloodbath is the continuation of the Israeli army’s policy during the last seven weeks: shooting with live ammunition at demonstrators, on the assumption that anyone approaching the separation fence is a legitimate target,” Marie-Elisabeth Ingres, the group’s representative in Gaza, said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned “the violence of the Israeli forces against protesters.”

Turkey is recalling its ambassadors to Washington and Tel Aviv for consultations, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was “profoundly alarmed” by the violence in Gaza and urged Israeli forces to “exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire,” his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

A proposed UN Security Council press statement, put forward by Kuwait, was blocked by the US, according to a UN diplomat.

The draft statement, seen by CNN, included language expressing “outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest.”

It also reaffirmed UN resolutions on the status of Jerusalem, saying that recent events had “no legal effect” under international law. The statement was withdrawn once the US indicated that it would block it, a UN diplomat said.

Monday’s deaths came after 35,000 protesters gathered at the border of Gaza and Israeli territory Monday to object to the embassy move, continuing the “Great March of Return” demonstrations. The protests have been taking place since March, in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel and expulsion of thousands of Palestinians.

Most of the dead were killed by Israeli fire near the border, after troops used tear gas and live ammunition to try and disperse the crowd. Israeli drones also dropped tear gas in an effort to disperse the protesters.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, of “leading a terrorist operation” and inciting the protesters to conduct what Israel described as terror attacks.

The IDF alleged some protesters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, and burned tires. It F also claimed to have foiled an attack by three armed Palestinians near Rafah, close to the border with Egypt, during “a particularly violent demonstration.”

Many of the injured Palestinians were young men who were hit by live ammunition, according to British-Palestinian Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitteh, who spoke to CNN from a hospital run by a British charity in Jabaliya camp in northern Gaza.

Monday’s death toll was the biggest number of fatalities suffered in one day since the latest round of demonstrations began more than six weeks ago. The previous high was 17, which happened on the day the protests started on March 30.</s>At least 41 Palestinians were killed and over 1,960 others injured on Monday by the Israeli army, which continued to fire on mass demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel boundary protesting the United States embassy's move to Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Among those killed was a 14-year-old boy, and 200 minors were wounded, while 30 injured protesters were in critical condition.
The Israeli Army reports some 4,000 Palestinians hold violent protests in five locations along the Gaza border, throwing Molotov cocktails at troops and burning tires. The Israeli Army kills two protesters and injures more than 100 others using live fire and tear gas.