Gaza protests - as it happened: Two Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in second day of deadly violence
Two countries recall ambassadors while UN describes conduct as 'shocking'
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Israel has faced widespread international condemnation after 58 people including a baby were killed in protests in Gaza, where Israeli soldiers met rocks thrown by Palestinians with live ammunition.
A 51-year-old man was also killed in Tuesday's more muted demonstrations, along with another protester, bringing the total number of dead to 60.
The US joined Israel in blaming Hamas for the deaths, with the Israeli military suggesting the terrorist group attempted armed violence under cover of the demonstrations against Donald Trump’s move of the US embassy to Jerusalem.
Turkey and South Africa, staunchly aligned with the Palestinians, recalled their ambassadors to Israel while Boris Johnson said: “We understand that some have been provoking that violence but on the other hand there has got to be restraint in the use of live rounds.”
Khaled Batch, the head of the organising committee of protests, said Tuesday would be a day for funerals. It is also what Palestinians call the “Nakba” day, the anniversary of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians’ displacement following Israel’s founding.
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Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to condemn what he called “massacres” carried out by Israeli troops in Gaza.
Of the 59 Palestinians killed, six were children, Gaza's health ministry said. Some 1,360 Palestinians were wounded by bullets, including 130 who were in serious or critical condition.
Egypt, an important ally of Israel, condemned the killings while the UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, decried the “shocking killing of dozens”.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called on Israel to respect the “principle of proportionality in the use of force” and show restraint, while also urging Hamas to ensure any protests remain peaceful.
Additional reporting by agencies
ReutersA tear gas canister is fired by Israeli troops towards Palestinian demonstrators in the southern Gaza Strip on 15 May 2018.
Belgium's foreign ministry has summoned the Israeli ambassador to the country after she said that all the Palestinians who died in Monday's violence in Gaza were "terrorists".
Prime Minister Charles Michel said he was "shocked" by remarks made by ambassador Simona Frankel in a television interview yesterday.
"The comment that consisted of saying that all killed or hurt were terrorists - that we can obviously not accept," a Belgian government statement said.
"There were two statements I could not accept: One on proportionality of force by saying they could not wait for Israeli casualties — there were none," said foreign minister Didier Reyners.
Addressing the UN Security Council on the violence in Gaza, the US envoy, Nikki Haley, has said "no country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has."
Ms Haley praised Israel for showing restraint as the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, "has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy" to Jerusalem.
A UN Security Council meeting on the violence along the border between Israel and Gaza has begun with a moment of silence for the more than 50 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces on Monday, the bloodiest day there since a 2014 war.
Poland's ambassador, Joanna Wronecka, called for the gesture of remembrance in her role as current council president.
Kuwait called for the session after Monday's killings. Israel said its troops were defending its border.
The Palestinian envoy wants the council to condemn the killings. Israel's ambassador is calling for condemnation of Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the coastal strip and led the protests.
At least 24 of the 58 Palestinians killed in a mass march on Monday were militants, Israel's military has said.
It said the gunmen had a "documented terror background" and were members of the Islamic militant Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group.
It said 8 Hamas operatives attempted to breach the border fence using Palestinian civilians as cover.
The IDF said they threw grenades and shot at troops who had rushed to the scene, and said its troops returned fire and killed the militants.
The military said its forces prevented a "significant" attack and released photos of grenades and a gun it said were from the scene.
Thousands of people have gathered in Lebanon's Beaufort castle near the border with Israel to mark the Jewish state's creation 70 years ago, which led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.
The mostly Lebanese and Palestinians waved Palestinian flags during the ceremony outside the castle, which was occupied by Israel until it withdrew in 2000 from southern Lebanon.
Arabs are marking the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call their "nakba," or catastrophe — the uprooting of hundreds of thousands in the Mideast war over Israel's creation in 1948.
A senior Hezbollah official, Mohammed Raad, told the crowd at Beaufort castle the Palestinians "are not alone in the confrontation. We will continue to be with you in the battlefield and will not leave you alone."
They flew green, white, red and black balloons — the colors of the Palestinian flag — toward the Israel border.
France's president, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned the violence in Gaza in a phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister.
"He expressed his very deep concern about the situation in Gaza, condemned the violence and underlined the importance of protecting civilian populations and of the right to protest peacefully," the Elysee said in a statement.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has expressed concern at the violence in Gaza, but said "Germany understands Israel's security needs."
According to her office, she added that the right to peaceful protest and assembly in Gaza shouldn't be abused to provoke unrest.
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