At least 45 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and close to 1,700 others wounded as the Israeli army fired live ammunition and tear gas and firebombs at protesters assembled along several points near the border.
Of the 1,693 wounded, the ministry of health said at least 74 were below the age of 18, 23 were women and eight were journalists, Aljazeera reported.
Since Monday morning, Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip were attempting to cross the highly fortified fence separating the enclave from occupied lands, as part of the Great March of Return movement.
The demonstrations were part of a weeks-long protest calling for the right of return for Palestinian refugees to the areas they were forcibly expelled from in 1948.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians arrived to participate in the rally. “The number of people showing up to participate is unprecedented in comparison to the past seven weeks of protest,” local journalist Maram Humaid told Aljazeera.
The protest came ahead of the annual commemorations of the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, which marks creation of Israel on May 15, 1948 that led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their villages.
Some 448 people were shot at with live ammunition, while many others were injured from tear gas inhalation and rubber-coated steel bullets.
At least 39 are in critical condition, meaning that the death toll is expected to rise.
US Embassy Move
Demonstrations were also planned to coincide with the moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Beit-ul-Moqaddas, further stoking tensions and angering Palestinians.
Rallies also kicked off in the occupied West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al-Khalil, as a response to the US embassy move. In Ramallah, Palestinians were expected to protest from the city center to the Qalandia military checkpoint, the main northern crossing separating Ramallah from Beit-ul-Moqaddas.
About 70% of the Gaza Strip’s population of two million are descendants of refugees.
Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces had killed at least 86 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and wounded more than 9,400.
One Million Strong
Organizers of the Great March of Return say they expected as many as one million people to join the demonstration and attempt to cross the fence from various points across the border.
A leaflet circulated by the organizers reads, “The national committee for the Great March of Return invites you to participate in the peaceful popular protest, One Million of Return and Breaking the Siege.”
A spokesperson for the Great March of Return, Ahmad Abu Artema, told Aljazeera on Monday that the aim of trying to cross the fence is to “send a message the Palestinian people have not and will not adapt to 70 years of being refugees, estrangement and difficult conditions.”
“We are adamant to return, no matter what happens. This is what the people of Gaza want—it’s about popular will. And this is their right.”
The Right of Return is enshrined in United Nations Resolution 194. Early on Monday, the Israeli military, which has imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the Gaza Strip for more than a decade, dropped leaflets warning Palestinians to stay away from the border.
Rafah Border Open
The Palestinian embassy in Cairo announced that Egypt would open the Rafah border crossing for four days and would allow movement in both directions.
The opening is meant to attend to humanitarian cases, as well as to those whose names are registered waiting to leave the Gaza Strip.
Jamal Afanah, a 15-year-old boy, died on Saturday in the southern Gaza Strip as a result of wounds inflicted by Israeli security forces the day before, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israeli forces shot Afanah on Friday during protests which took place for the seventh Friday in a row as part of the Great March of Return movement.
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