As it happened: At least 58 Palestinians killed and thousands injured by Israeli forces amid protests at US embassy in Jerusalem
As Israeli and American officials celebrated the change, thousands of Palestinian protesters were wounded or killed by Israeli bullets
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At least 58 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,000 people wounded in protests at the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, according to Palestinian officials, on the same day the US fulfiled its controversial promise to move its embassy to the contested city of Jerusalem.
Thousands of demonstrators set fire to tyres on Monday, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air to deter Israeli snipers. The Israeli military said the protests were being used as cover for attacks on soldiers.
It marked the deadliest single day of protests in a weeks-long campaign from Hamas in the run up to the US embassy move and the Nakba, or ‘Catastrophe’, on Tuesday - celebrated in Israel as the country’s 70th birthday.
Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem – in pictures
Show all 37The order given to Israeli soldiers was to prevent Palestinians from crossing into Israel at any price, including direct live fire. Israel has also warned Hamas that any mass breakthrough will result in airstrikes on the group’s infrastructure inside the Strip - with a number of targets hit by Israeli forces by the afternoon.
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Hamas, the militant group that rules the Strip, had urged supporters to break through the 11-year-old Israel blockade, which has left Gaza "uninhabitable".
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the actions of the Israeli forces as a "genocide" and Israel as a "terrorist state".
"No matter from what side, whether from the United States or Israel, I curse this humanitarian plight, this genocide," he said.
Kuwait has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council amid international outcry over the clashes.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's top aides and supporters on Monday celebrated the opening of the new US Embassy in Jerusalem as a campaign promised fulfilled.
Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, along with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, led the US delegation with a single message: Only Trump had the courage to act on what America has wanted for a long time.
“While presidents before him have backed down from their pledge to move the American Embassy once they were in office, this president delivered. Because when President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it,” Mr Kushner said in his speech.
In a recorded message played at the ceremony, Mr Trump said the embassy move was a "long time coming" but he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
“Our greatest hope is for peace,” said Trump, whose recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocation of the embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv, has outraged Palestinians and drawn international concern.
“The United States remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement,” Mr Trump said. “The United States will always be a great friend of Israel and a partner in the cause of freedom and peace.”
The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv has infuriated the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.
Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has denounced the choice of a "religious bigot" to deliver the blessing at the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
Pastor Robert Jeffress, leader of a Dallas-area Baptist church and a spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, is slated to deliver a blessing on Monday at the opening of the relocated embassy at 4pm (2pm BST).
Jeffress has drawn criticism for calling Islam and Mormonism "a heresy from the pit of hell" and saying Jews "can't be saved".
"Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem," Mr Romney wrote on Twitter.
The seven people killed in protests today include a 14-year-old boy, Gaza's health ministry has said.
Among the 69 injured are five journalists.
A total of ten people have been killed by Israeli fire, Gazan health officials have now said.
The rapidly mounting death toll appears to be confirming fears that Monday's clashes will be some of the bloodiest in recent weeks.
The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire near the Gaza border has risen to 16, Gaza's Health Ministry has announced.
The deaths today bring the total number of Palestinian protesters killed since mass border protests began in late March to 58.
Russia's deputy foreign minister has criticised Donald Trump's decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, saying it will further fuel tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mikhail Bogdanov described the relocation of the embassy as "short-sighted."
Mr Bogdanov said in an interview with the Interfax news agency that the decision "runs against the stance of most of the international community."
He blamed the US for "a sharp escalation around Gaza" and said the relocation of the US embassy "could spark large-scale confrontations between Palestinians and the Israelis and cause a rising number of casualties."
A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot looks on during a protest against US embassy move to Jerusalem (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)
The Arab League and the top Sunni Muslim religious authority have criticised the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The Cairo-based Arab League called on the international community to oppose what it considers an "unjust decision" and the ongoing "Israeli occupation" of the city.
It called the move a "blatant attack on the feelings of Arabs and Muslims," and a "grave violation of the rules of international law" that would destabilise the region.
Egypt's Al-Azhar religious institution called on the international community to use "all peaceful means" to "dismiss positions of countries that sided with the Zionist entity," referring to Israel.
The number of Palestinian protesters killed has risen to 18, Gaza's Health Ministry says.
It brings the total number of protesters killed since late March to 60.
Smoke rises as Israeli soldiers are seen on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip (REUTERS/Baz Ratner)
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