A spokesman for the Palestinian Health Ministry said that 40 people were killed by the Israeli occupation forces and wounded more than two thousand others, Monday, during the protests on the border with the Gaza Strip with Israel hours before the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
The Palestinian medical sources announced dozens of dead and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire on the border east of the Gaza Strip, as part of the "march of the great return," which began on 30 March last, according to the Palestinian news agency "Wafa".
Wafa said the dead were between 14 and 30 years old.
Thousands of Palestinians gathered near the Gaza Strip border with Israel earlier on Monday, the day before the last six weeks of protests, and the Israeli army quickly fired tear gas at people inside the tents, which were erected along the border.
Palestinian witnesses said Israeli aircraft also threw flammable materials on Monday to burn tires, which protesters gathered in preparation for a fire and pushed them toward the border later in the day.
Prior to that, the occupation army issued leaflets warning Gaza residents not to approach the fence or attempt to sabotage it, describing the protesters as rioters.
The protests are expected to escalate on Monday with the official opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on the 70th anniversary of the Nakba.
The protests, called the "Great March of Return", are due to culminate on Tuesday, when Nakba was evicted when hundreds of thousands were evicted from their homes in 1948.
The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 60 Palestinians since protests began on March 30, while there were no reports of Israeli casualties or casualties.
The death toll has drawn international criticism, while the Israeli army says its forces are defending the border and firing in line with rules of engagement.