Israeli troops have shot and wounded seven Palestinians on the Gaza border, according to medical officials. The clashes happened a day before a mass rally called to mark the first anniversary of weekly protests, in which around 200 Palestinians have been killed.
Despite a decision by Gaza protest organisers not to hold a big demonstration, some Palestinians turned out, although in smaller numbers than usual.
Humanitarian officials surged restraint for Saturday's anniversary to avoid any further bloodshed.
The Israeli military said its troops faced around 800 demonstrators along the fortified frontier today and that they had used riot dispersal measures to defend the border.
There were also sporadic clashes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinian youths threw petrol bombs in Hebron, and 150 demonstrators hurled stones at Israeli troops, who fired back with rubber bullets and tear gas.
"The March of Return" - Israel-Gaza border protests, which turned into regular clashes with the Israeli army -began on 30 March 2018 to demand the easing of an Israeli-Egyptian economic blockade and the right of return to lands that Palestinian families fled or were driven from on Israel's founding in 1948.
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