Appalling brutality.
By Loveday Morris and Hazem Balousha
Israeli forces killed 58 Palestinians on the boundary fence with Gaza on Monday, local health officials said, a level of bloodshed not seen since the most violent days of Israel's 2014 war in the territory.
Some young men brought knives and fence cutters. Tens of thousands of Palestinians had gathered on the edges of the fenced off blockaded territory from midmorning. Many came to peacefully demonstrate, bringing their children, carrying flags. Food stalls sold snacks and music blared.
At a gathering point east of Gaza City, organizers urged protestors over loudspeakers to burst through the fence, telling them Israeli soldiers were fleeing their positions, even as they were reinforcing them.
Israeli snipers were determined not to allow a breach, and ambulances soon began screaming back and forth from the fence, as gunshots rang out over the crowd. No Israeli soldiers were injured, though, and Israel drew widespread condemnation for an excessive use of force.
More than 2,700 people were injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, including 1,359 from live ammunition. The dead included six children under the age of 18, among them a 15-year-old girl, and a medic, the ministry said.
The United Nations said that "those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account," and Human Rights Watch described the killings as a "bloodbath." Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned a continuing "massacre" of the Palestinian people. Both Turkey and South Africa announced they were recalling their ambassadors from Israel.
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At Gaza City's main al-Shifaa hospital, medics said they were overwhelmed.
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