As it happened: At least 58 Palestinians killed and thousands injured by Israeli forces amid protests at US embassy in Jerusalem
As Israeli and American officials celebrated the change, thousands of Palestinian protesters were wounded or killed by Israeli bullets
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Your support makes all the difference.At least 58 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,000 people wounded in protests at the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, according to Palestinian officials, on the same day the US fulfiled its controversial promise to move its embassy to the contested city of Jerusalem.
Thousands of demonstrators set fire to tyres on Monday, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air to deter Israeli snipers. The Israeli military said the protests were being used as cover for attacks on soldiers.
It marked the deadliest single day of protests in a weeks-long campaign from Hamas in the run up to the US embassy move and the Nakba, or ‘Catastrophe’, on Tuesday - celebrated in Israel as the country’s 70th birthday.
The order given to Israeli soldiers was to prevent Palestinians from crossing into Israel at any price, including direct live fire. Israel has also warned Hamas that any mass breakthrough will result in airstrikes on the group’s infrastructure inside the Strip - with a number of targets hit by Israeli forces by the afternoon.
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Hamas, the militant group that rules the Strip, had urged supporters to break through the 11-year-old Israel blockade, which has left Gaza "uninhabitable".
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the actions of the Israeli forces as a "genocide" and Israel as a "terrorist state".
"No matter from what side, whether from the United States or Israel, I curse this humanitarian plight, this genocide," he said.
Kuwait has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council amid international outcry over the clashes.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's top aides and supporters on Monday celebrated the opening of the new US Embassy in Jerusalem as a campaign promised fulfilled.
Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, along with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, led the US delegation with a single message: Only Trump had the courage to act on what America has wanted for a long time.
“While presidents before him have backed down from their pledge to move the American Embassy once they were in office, this president delivered. Because when President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it,” Mr Kushner said in his speech.
In a recorded message played at the ceremony, Mr Trump said the embassy move was a "long time coming" but he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
“Our greatest hope is for peace,” said Trump, whose recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocation of the embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv, has outraged Palestinians and drawn international concern.
“The United States remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement,” Mr Trump said. “The United States will always be a great friend of Israel and a partner in the cause of freedom and peace.”
The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv has infuriated the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.
South Africa has confirmed that it is withdrawing its ambassador from Israel," according to AFP.
"Given the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack, the South African government has taken a decision to recall Ambassador Sisa Ngombane with immediate effect until further notice," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The United Nations Security Council will hold a meeting on Gaza and the Middle East on Tuesday.
Nickolay Mladenov, the special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, is expected to brief the UN Security Counsel during that meeting.
"Obviously it's a very concerning event, it's a very sad thing," UK Ambassador Karen Pierce, who noted the meeting, said.
"The casualty list is now over 50 with more, possibly up to a thousand injured," she continued. "Obviously one calls for restraint on all sides. This is not what we want to see on the ground."
US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, did not speak to reporters while making her way to the Security Council chambers for an unrelated meeting.
Here are some more photos from the violence in Gaza, thanks to the Associated Press.
A Palestinian woman walks past burning tires near the Israeli border fence, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip.
A woman holds a Palestinian flag as a protester burns tires near the Israeli border fence, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip.
Medics treat Palestinian suffering from teargas inhalation during a protest near Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip.
Palestinian protesters hurl stones at Israeli troops while engulfed in smoke from burning tires near the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has concluded security meetings with his Defense minister, his public security minister, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff, and other members of the country's security apparatus.
Israeli officials have said they expect further demonstrations Tuesday, when Palestinians mark Nakba Day, when Palestinians mourn what they call the "catastrophe" of the creation of Israel 70 years ago.
Mr Netanyahu praised the IDF, saying that "the determined action of the IDF and the security forces prevented a breach into Israel's borders", according to CNN.
Saudi Arabia has condemned Israel's use of force against Palestinians, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
"It is important for the international community to know its responsibilities towards stopping the violence against Palestinians and protecting them," a senior Saudi foreign ministry official said, according to that news agency.
A shoe soaked with blood from a wounded Palestinian lays in a triage tent next to the demonstration area as mass demonstrations continued in Gaza City, Gaza.
The Palestinian Health Ministry now says that 58 people have been killed by Israeli defense forces in the violent protests over the US moving its embassy to Jerusalem.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has said that the United States is an accomplice of Israel's in what he said is a "crime against humanity".
"Unfortunately, the US has arrogantly stood by the Israeli administration which kills civilians and has partnered in this crime against humanity," he said in Ankara.
The Israeli military says it is reopening the Gaza Strip's main cargo crossing.
The Kerem Shalom crossing was closed over the weekend after Palestinian protesters damaged the facility.
The crossing is used to deliver food, medical supplies, fuel and building materials into the Gaza Strip. The military says it will reopen Tuesday, but it is not expected to operate at full capacity.
Israeli officials say protesters caused millions of dollars of damage to a fuel pipeline and conveyor belt that could take weeks to repair.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza in a statement released late on Monday
Mr Macron talked with Jordan's King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday and is planning to talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, the presidency said.
Israeli troops killed dozens of Palestinians taking part in mass protests on the Gaza border on Monday as the United States opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.
"[Mr Macron] lamented the large number of Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza today and over the past few weeks," the French presidency said.
"He condemned the violence of Israeli armed forces against demonstrators."