GAZA ERUPTS IN FURY

Scores slain in clashes with Israelis

At least 58 Palestinians were killed and more than 2.400 wounded in clashes with Israeli troops on Monday, marking the deadliest violence since the 2014 Gaza cross-border war and casting a pall on the inauguration of the new US Embassy in Jerusalem.

In a display of fury fueled by the embassy’s move from Tel Aviv, protesters set tires ablaze and hurled firebombs and stones at Israeli soldiers.

More than 1,200 were injured by Israeli gunfire, including 116 who were in critical or serious condition, Palestinian officials said.

The Israel Defense Forces said there were no border breaches in Gaza, despite an “unprecedented” level of violence, and that it used airstrikes and tank fire against Hamas targets.

“We saw more than five explosive devices. We saw shooting at forces,” said IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis.

The 50,000-strong protest was the culmination of a campaign — led by Hamas and fueled by despair among Gaza’s 2 million residents — to break the decade-old blockade of the territory by Israel and Egypt.

But Monday’s protests appeared more violent than those of previous weeks, with some young men carrying knives and fence cutters.

At a gathering point east of Gaza City, organizers urged protesters over loudspeakers to break through the fence, telling them Israeli soldiers were fleeing their positions — even as the troops were reinforcing them.

The protest marked the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding, but was largely directed at the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, which President Trump last year recognized as the Israeli capital — to the outrage of Palestinians seeking East Jerusalem as their future capital.

Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas figure, said the demonstrations would continue “until the rights of the Palestinian people are achieved.”

“Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem will be a disaster on the American administration and a black day in the history of the American people because they are partners with the occupation and its aggression against the Palestinian people,” he said.

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

The White House also blamed Hamas for the Palestinian deaths.

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES: Palestinian protesters flee and carry off the wounded after smoke from tear gas and gunfire engulfed the Gaza Strip on Monday as thousands tried to breach the border with Israel. The Israeli forces repelled the demonstrators,...