Palestinian death toll rises to 60
GAZA: Palestinians rallied in Gaza yesterday for the funerals of scores of people killed by Israeli troops a day earlier, while on the GazaIsrael border, Israeli forces took up positions to deal with the expected final day of a Palestinian protest campaign.
Monday’s violence on the border, which took place as the United States opened its new embassy in Jerusalem, was the bloodiest for Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza conflict.
The death toll rose to 60 overnight after an 8monthold baby died from tear gas her family said she inhaled at a protest camp on Monday. More than 2200 Palestinians were also injured by gunfire or tear gas.
Palestinian leaders have called Monday’s events a massacre, and the Israeli tactic of using live fire against the protesters has drawn worldwide concern and condemnation by the leaders of many countries.
Israel said it was acting in selfdefence to defend its borders and communities. Its main ally the United States has backed that stance, with both saying Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the coastal enclave, instigated the violence.
There were fears of further bloodshed today as Palestinians planned a further protest to mark the ‘‘Nakba’’, or ‘‘Catastrophe’’.
That is the day Palestinians lament the creation of Israel in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes in violence culminating in war between the newly created Jewish state and its Arab neighbours in 1948.
A sixweek campaign of border protests dubbed ‘‘The Great March of Return’’ has revived calls for refugees to have the right of return to their former lands, which now lie inside Israel.
It was unclear whether large crowds would turn up at the border today for the climax to the campaign after the heavy fatalities suffered on Monday.
Palestinian medical officials say 104 Gazans have now died since the start of the protests on March 30. No Israeli casualties have been reported.
Israeli troops deployed along the border again yesterday. The area was relatively quiet early in the day, with many Gazans at the funerals. Protesters were expected to go to the border later.
In Geneva, the UN human rights office condemned the ‘‘appalling deadly violence’’ by Israeli forces and said it was extremely worried about what might happen later.
UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said Israel had a right to defend its borders according to international law, but lethal force must only be used a last resort, and was not justified by Palestinians approaching the Gaza fence.
More than 2 million people are crammed into the narrow Gaza Strip, which is blockaded by Egypt and Israel and suffering a humanitarian crisis.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered a general strike across the Palestinian Territories today and three days of national mourning.
Monday’s protests were fired by the opening ceremony for the new US Embassy in Jerusalem following its relocation from Tel Aviv. The move fulfilled a pledge by US President Donald Trump, who in December recognised the contested city as the Israeli capital.
Israeli Prime Minister Benja min Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the Gaza violence. Hamas denied instigating it but the US backed Netanyahu.
‘‘The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response,’’ White House spokesman Raj Shah said.
The US yesterday blocked a UN Security Council statement expressing ‘‘outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians’’ and called for an independent investigation, UN diplomats said. — Reuters