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Nakba day: Palestinians prepare for more Gaza protests as Israel faces international condemnation over border violence Nakba day: Israel faces international condemnation over two-day ‘massacre’ at Gaza border
(about 7 hours later)
Palestinian families are burying their dead after Gaza endured its worst day of violence in years: 57 people were shot by Israeli troops and a baby died of tear gas inhalation in protests on the border. ​Israel is facing almost universal international condemnation after two days of violence on the border with Gaza which left 59 unarmed Palestinians dead after being shot by Israeli troops.  
The toll of 58 dead and around 2,700 injured – many shot in the legs – was the steep price paid by those who protested at the security fence which separates the blockaded Palestinian enclave from Israel on Monday. Palestinian families buried their dead on Tuesday morning, including an eight-month-old baby who reportedly died after inhaling tear gas. Three days of mourning have been declared for what the Palestinian Authority described as a "massacre" of its people. 
Fresh protests are expected this afternoon, but it is not clear if they will be of the same size or intensity as yesterday.  The toll of 58 dead and around 2,700 injured – many shot in the legs – was the steep price paid by those who protested at the security fence which separates the blockaded Palestinian enclave from Israel on Monday. One 51-year-old died after being shot on Tuesday. 
Haaretz reports that Hamas, the militant organisation in control of the Gaza Strip, has sent messages to Israeli officials suggesting it may tone down protests planned for Tuesday – the Nakba, or ‘Catastrophe’, which Palestinians mark as the birth of Israel – in light of yesterday’s bloodshed. Three days of mourning have been declared.  Israeli troops were ordered to use live fire on the 40,000 people who protested both the US’ embassy move to Jerusalem and the Nakba, or ‘Catastrophe’ – the Palestinian anniversary of Israel’s founding. 
On Monday around 40,000 people were bussed to the border by Hamas – the culmination of weeks of protests ahead of the planned US embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as well as the Nakba.  Although the air force dropped leaflets warning people their lives would be in danger if they protested at the border, and said the protests were being used by Gaza-based militant group Hamas as cover for attacks, the resulting heavy casualties have been strongly criticised by the international community. 
Israel’s air force dropped leaflets warning people their lives would be in danger if they protested at the border. They were ordered to use live fire on anyone trying to cross into Israel during the protests, which the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said were being used as cover by Hamas for attacks.   South Africa and Turkey recalled their ambassadors to the country, and Belgium has summoned Israeli ambassador Simona Frankel over her comments that all those killed were “terrorists”.
The resulting heavy casualties betray both Gaza’s desperation after 11 years of a crippling blockade and the Israel military’s heavy handed tactics, human rights organisations said. Turkey also took the step of expelling the Israeli ambassador to Ankara for an undetermined length of time. 
“The policy of Israel authorities to fire irrespective of whether there is an immediate threat to life on Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza, caged in for a decade and under occupation for half a century, has resulted in a bloodbath anyone could have foreseen,” director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division Sarah Leah Whitson said in a statement. The UK has called on the UN to launch an investigation into why “such a volume” of live ammunition was used against unarmed Palestinian protesters, but stopped short of linking the deaths of protesters to Washington’s decision to move its embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. 
For the most part the international community has condemned the Israeli policy of firing on unarmed protesters. The UN Security Council will meet later on Tuesday to discuss the violence, though it is not clear what action might come out of the session.
South Africa and Turkey have recalled their ambassadors to the country.  The killings betray both Gaza’s desperation after 11 years of a crippling blockade and the Israeli military’s heavy-handed tactics, human rights organisations said.
The UN Security Council will meet later on Tuesday to discuss the violence, though it is not clear what action might come out of the session. “The policy of Israeli authorities to fire irrespective of whether there is an immediate threat to life on Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza, caged in for a decade and under occupation for half a century, has resulted in a bloodbath anyone could have foreseen,” director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division Sarah Leah Whitson said in a statement.
Officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, have also drawn criticism for celebrating the opening of the new US embassy in the contested city of Jerusalem while just 60 kilometres (40 miles) away Gazans were dying at the border as they protested the move.   Tuesday’s protests did not reach anywhere near the size or intensity of Monday's.
Haaretz reported that Hamas, the militant organisation in control of the Gaza Strip, had sent messages to Israeli officials suggesting it may tone down the planned protests for the Nakba day itself.
Officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, have also drawn international criticism for celebrating the opening of the new US embassy in the contested city of Jerusalem while just 60 kilometres (40 miles) away Gazans were dying at the border as they protested the move. 
The White House has explicitly blamed Hamas for the violence.The White House has explicitly blamed Hamas for the violence.
“Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response and as the secretary of state [Mike Pompeo] said, Israel has a right to defend itself,” White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told reporters on Monday night.“Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response and as the secretary of state [Mike Pompeo] said, Israel has a right to defend itself,” White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told reporters on Monday night.
Also on Monday, the US blocked the UN Security Council from adopting a statement calling for an independent probe into Monday’s violence.  Also on Monday, the US blocked the UN Security Council from adopting a statement calling for an independent probe into Monday’s violence.