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Gaza: Nakba day protests as Palestinians bury those killed in embassy unrest – live updates Gaza: Nakba day protests as Palestinians bury those killed in embassy unrest – live updates
(35 minutes later)
The roads in the Gaza enclave are very quiet, with few cars driving around.
“It feels like wartime again,” one resident told me. Shops are open, selling snacks and fresh watermelons, and some children are playing football outside.
I’ve heard a few dull thuds that might be sonic booms from jets flying overhead.We stopped at one funeral in Gaza City, where a blue tarpaulin tent had been erected for mourners to spend the day. Yazen al-Toubasi, 23, was shot dead yesterday, his father said, several hundred metres from the frontier.Asked if the protests should continue despite the bloodshed, Ibrahim al-Toubasi said it was a duty for people in Gaza to return to the frontier.“Yazen has a brother, a son, a father, a mother, a neighbour. We will never vanish.”
Germany called on Israelis and Palestinians to try to avoid an escalation in violence and said an independent commission could help clear up what happened, Reuters reports.
“What happened.. worries us greatly,” said spokesman Steffen Seibert, reiterating the German stance that while Palestinians had a right to protest peacefully and Israel had a right to protect its border, all behaviour must be proportionate.
The UK’s Middle East minister Alistair Burt also backed an investigation into the violence.
The Saudi Arabian government, a key ally of the US in the region, said it opposed the Trump administration’s decision to relocate its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“The kingdom rejects the American administration’s decision to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem,” the council of ministers said in a state carried by state-run Saudi Press Agency.
“This step represents a significant prejudice against the rights of the Palestinian people which have been guaranteed by international resolutions,” it said.
Doctors from the International Committee of the Red Cross are worried that hospitals will become overwhelmed with injured Palestinians in Gaza.
"If we receive more patients, how are we going to take care of them? Doctors are overworked. Nurses are overworked. We are running out of stock." Dr. Srihari, ICRC #Gaza. pic.twitter.com/7vN6MOmHxF
The UK Middle East minister, Alistair Burt, has repeated his extreme concern about Israel’s use of large volumes of live fire, in the Commons.
In answer to an urgent question from Labour on the violence in Gaza Burt read out the statement he issued earlier.
He added:
We agree with the United Nations envoy that the situation in Gaza is desperate and deteriorating and the international community must step up efforts. We call on the UN special representative of the secretary general to bring forward proposals to address the situation in Gaza. These should include easing the restrictions on access and movement and international support for urgent infrastructure and economic development projects. We also reiterate our support for the Egyptian-led reconciliation process and the return of Palestinian Authority to full administration of the Gaza strip.
We must look forward and work urgently towards the long-standing issues between Israel and the Palestinian people. Now more than ever we need a political process that delivers the two-state solution. Every death and every wounding casts a shadow for the future. The human tragedies should be used not as more building blocks for immovable positions which will lead inevitable to more confrontation, but as a spur for urgent change. Yesterday’s tragedies demonstrate why peace is urgently needed.
Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for accusing Israel of “state terror” and “genocide” over Monday’s violence.Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for accusing Israel of “state terror” and “genocide” over Monday’s violence.
“Erdogan is one of the biggest supporters of Hamas, so there’s no doubt he’s an expert on terror and slaughter,” Netanyahu said on Twitter.“Erdogan is one of the biggest supporters of Hamas, so there’s no doubt he’s an expert on terror and slaughter,” Netanyahu said on Twitter.
“I’d suggest he doesn’t preach morality to us.”“I’d suggest he doesn’t preach morality to us.”
Erdogan is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to usErdogan is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us
Violence in Gaza is destructive to the peace process, a Downing Street spokesman told journalists.Violence in Gaza is destructive to the peace process, a Downing Street spokesman told journalists.
The spokesman said:The spokesman said:
“We are extremely concerned by the scale of the violence. The loss of life and the large number of injured Palestinians is tragic ... Such violence is destructive to peace efforts.“We are extremely concerned by the scale of the violence. The loss of life and the large number of injured Palestinians is tragic ... Such violence is destructive to peace efforts.
“We call on all sides to show restraint and refrain from any further violence. Palestinians have the right to protest but these protests must be peaceful. We are concerned that extremist elements may be seeking to hijack peaceful protests to further their own objectives. Israel has the right to defend its borders ... but the use of live fire is deeply troubling.”“We call on all sides to show restraint and refrain from any further violence. Palestinians have the right to protest but these protests must be peaceful. We are concerned that extremist elements may be seeking to hijack peaceful protests to further their own objectives. Israel has the right to defend its borders ... but the use of live fire is deeply troubling.”
Palestinians are clashing with Israeli troops in the West Bank, AP reports.Palestinians are clashing with Israeli troops in the West Bank, AP reports.
Thick black smoke billowed from burning tires as Palestinians threw stones at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas. About 200 Palestinians were protesting in the biblical city of Bethlehem while another 100 were demonstrating in the Palestinian city of Ramallah.Thick black smoke billowed from burning tires as Palestinians threw stones at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas. About 200 Palestinians were protesting in the biblical city of Bethlehem while another 100 were demonstrating in the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
The Economist’s Gregg Carlstrom has this update from the funeral of eight-month-old Laila al-Ghandour.The Economist’s Gregg Carlstrom has this update from the funeral of eight-month-old Laila al-Ghandour.
At the funeral of an 8-month-old baby in Gaza. Her mother left her home and went to the protest yesterday. The girl started crying uncontrollably, so her uncle brought her to her mother, and she died from tear gas. pic.twitter.com/kE6M1dQH4JAt the funeral of an 8-month-old baby in Gaza. Her mother left her home and went to the protest yesterday. The girl started crying uncontrollably, so her uncle brought her to her mother, and she died from tear gas. pic.twitter.com/kE6M1dQH4J
The border between Gaza and Israel has been largely quiet today, but Reuters reporter Dan Williams said he just witnessed an Israeli drone dropping teargas on small crowds gathered at the border. More protesters are expected after the funerals.The border between Gaza and Israel has been largely quiet today, but Reuters reporter Dan Williams said he just witnessed an Israeli drone dropping teargas on small crowds gathered at the border. More protesters are expected after the funerals.
An Israeli drone dropping tear gas on a Palestinian protest encampment in Sajayia, as seen from the Israeli side of the Gaza border, 80 yards from the fence. Small crowds, for now, but more are expected after the funerals of yesterday’s dead. pic.twitter.com/dem20SaEPFAn Israeli drone dropping tear gas on a Palestinian protest encampment in Sajayia, as seen from the Israeli side of the Gaza border, 80 yards from the fence. Small crowds, for now, but more are expected after the funerals of yesterday’s dead. pic.twitter.com/dem20SaEPF
Tens of thousands of people are attending the funerals in Gaza, according to Haaretz.
The video agency Ruptly has disturbing footage of the first funerals. WARNING: graphic images.
Here’s what we know so far:
The funerals are underway for some of those killed by Israeli forces on Monday during protests at the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem. They coincide with Nakba day protests expected later today when Palestinians mark the 70th anniversary of the expulsion of 700,000 people during the creation of Israel.
The health ministry in Gaza said 60 were killed in Monday’s protests. They include 13 children shot by Israeli forces and a baby who was overcome by teargas inhalation.
There has been widespread international condemnation of Monday’s violence and concern about what could happen later on Tuesday. The UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, said he was “profoundly alarmed” by the number of Palestinians killed. The UK called on Israel to show restraint.
The UN Security Council is set to meet later on Tuesday to discuss the violence. South Africa has recalled its ambassador to Israel. Turkey has called for Muslim nations to review their ties with Israel.
Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev, has defended the use of live fire against Palestinians and blamed Hamas for instigating the violence. He insisted the use of force was “measured” and “surgical” and aimed at protecting Israeli citizens.
The World Health Organisation says the number of protesters wounded in border clashes with Israel was “very overwhelming” for Gaza’s health system, AP reports.
Citing figures from the Health Ministry and a group of aid agencies, WHO official Mahmoud Daher said that 2,771 people were wounded in Monday’s unrest.
Of those, 1,360 were wounded by live fire, 400 from shrapnel and 980 from gas inhalation. He said the majority of those wounded by live fire were struck in their lower limbs.
Daher said that nearly 1,800 of the wounded sought hospital care, putting additional pressure on Gaza’s already stressed hospitals, which endure equipment and medicine shortages and face power cuts like the rest of the territory.
Daher said the numbers were comparable to wartime situations. “It is really massive in terms of numbers,” he said.
Protests against Israel are underway in Cape Town in South Africa.
South Africa confirmed it has withdrawn its ambassador to Israel following the attacks on protesters in Gaza.
[Listen] The South African Government has withdrawn its ambassador to Israel after a deadly attack in the Gaza Strip in which more than 50 civilians were killed. https://t.co/xvEpHpnd2g
On Monday anti-Israel protesters took to the streets of Istanbul, Turkey.
The funerals of some of those killed in Monday’s violence are getting underway.
AFP has more on the concerns of the UN’s human rights office:
It said it seemed that any Palestinian protesting in Gaza, regardless of whether they pose an imminent threat, is “liable” to be killed by Israeli forces.
“The mere fact of approaching a fence is not a lethal, life-threatening act, so that does not warrant being shot,” rights office spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.
“It seems that anyone is liable to be shot dead,” he added, stressing that international laws which apply to Israel make clear that “lethal force may only be used as a measure of last, not first, resort.”
“It is not acceptable to say that ‘this is Hamas and therefore this is OK’,” Colville added, in an apparent dismissal of Israel’s justification for the high casualty levels among Palestinians in clashes along the flashpoint border.
Israel accuses Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, of being behind the protests and says it is merely defending its territory.
Colville also noted that a double amputee was among the Palestinians killed.
“How much threat can a double amputee be making from the other side of a large fortified fence?” he asked.
UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Tuesday that “those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account.”
Another child has died from injuries sustained in Monday’s protests taking the death toll to 60, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Talal Adel Ibrahim Matar (16) who was wounded by Israeli soldiers yesterday, died from his wounds this morning, according to Haaretz citing the ministry.
It says 14 minors, including 8-months-old Laila al-Ghandour, have now died after Israel fired live rounds and teargas at the protesters.
#BREAKING: 16-year-old Talal Adel Ibrahim Matar, who was wounded by Israeli soldiers yesterday, died from his wounds this morning - #Gaza MoH. Since the #GreatReturnMarch protests started, the Israeli army killed 14 minors in Gaza - the youngest was only 8 months old pic.twitter.com/ib5GQFBCNq
The UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has urged Israel to show restraint in the use of live rounds. He also repeated the UK’s disagreement with the Trump administration over the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem. He said it was “playing the wrong card at the wrong time”.
In a statement made by Foreign Secretary ⁦@BorisJohnson⁩ after meeting his French counterpart ⁦@JY_LeDrian⁩, he expressed concern over the violence and casualties ⁧in Gaza pic.twitter.com/ksgiqJpjZ1
Alistair Burt, the Middle East minister, issued a longer statement earlier today, expressing extreme concern about the “large volume of live fire” used by Israel on Monday.
The UN human rights office, which is led by Zeid Raad Al Hussein, said it is extremely concerned about what may happen in Gaza later today.
The rules on the use of force under int'l law have been repeated many times but appear to be ignored again and again. It seems anyone is liable to be shot dead or injured: women, children, press, first responders, bystanders, & at almost any point up to 700m from the fence.
#Gaza: @UNHumanRights extremely worried about what may happen today -- an emotional day on all sides -- and in the weeks ahead. We urge maximum restraint. Enough is enough.
The funerals of many of the victims of Monday’s violence are due to get underway after noon prayers which are taking place now.