WarSclerotic

The United States on Monday blocked a Kuwait-drafted ‎U.N. Security Council statement that sought to ‎express “outrage and sorrow at the killing of ‎Palestinian civilians” in riots on the Israel-Gaza Strip border and called for an independent ‎and transparent investigation, U.N. diplomats said.‎

Israeli security forces were on high alert on the ‎Gaza border Tuesday ahead of the Hamas-orchestrated ‎Nakba Day march, marking the “catastrophe” of ‎Palestinian ‎‎displacement during Israel’s 1948 War of ‎‎‎Independence. ‎

Tensions in the area neared boiling point after ‎weeks of demonstrations and in the wake of deadly ‎riots that erupted on the border Monday, during the ‎high-profile opening of the U.S. Embassy in ‎Jerusalem.

The Palestinians reported 58 protesters ‎were killed and 2,700 were wounded in the ‎demonstrations, saying six minors, including one ‎girl, were among the dead.  ‎

Hamas, which boasted it could bring over 100,000 ‎people to the border on Monday, had to make due with ‎substantially lower turnout, as at the height of the ‎protest, it numbered some 40,000 Palestinians. ‎

The IDF said riots erupted at 13 points along the ‎border, where protesters torched tires and hurled ‎rocks and firebombs at the troops. The military ‎thwarted several attempts to rush the border, as ‎well as attempts to plant explosives on the ‎security fence.‎

Reuters

Military drones and combat aircraft struck 11 Hamas ‎targets in Gaza and Israeli tanks shelled terror ‎hubs in the Strip’s north and south in response to ‎the escalation in violence.‎

Defense officials said they expected a stronger ‎showing on the border on Tuesday, as Hamas’ “March of ‎Return” campaign was designed to peak on Nakba Day. ‎The terrorist group has said that part of its plan ‎for Tuesday’s protest was a mass rush of the security ‎fence, something the IDF said it would not allow. ‎

The military has deployed massive forces near ‎the ‎border, including special forces, snipers, and ‎sappers, in what has been described as the largest ‎deployment in the area since Operation Protective ‎‎Edge in 2014.‎

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas for ‎the violence in Gaza.‎

‎”Every country has an obligation to defend its ‎‎borders. The Hamas terrorist ‎organization declares ‎it intends to destroy Israel ‎and sends thousands to ‎breach the border fence in ‎order to achieve this ‎goal. We will continue to act ‎with determination to ‎protect our sovereignty and ‎citizens.”‎

Hamas denied instigating the violence, but the White ‎‎House backed Netanyahu.‎

‎”The responsibility for ‎these tragic deaths rests ‎squarely with Hamas. Hamas ‎is intentionally and ‎cynically provoking this ‎response,” White House ‎Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told ‎reporters.‎

Senior Hamas member Khalil al-Hayya said Monday that ‎the protest was timed to coincide with the ‎‎”deplorable crime of moving the U.S. Embassy to ‎Jerusalem. Our people went out today to respond to ‎this new Zionist-American aggression, and to draw by ‎their blood the map of their return.”‎

Top Palestinian official Saeb Erekat condemned the ‎Israeli military’s response to the riots, saying, ‎‎”These war crimes should not go unpunished and the ‎international community has a responsibility to ‎provide international protection for the Palestinian ‎people.”‎

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the United ‎States had opened an “American settlement outpost in east Jerusalem.” He announced a general strike on ‎Tuesday.‎

The Pentagon confirmed it had deployed additional ‎‎U.S. Marine guards to temporarily bolster security ‎‎at several U.S. embassies after the violence, ‎‎including Israel, Jordan and Turkey.‎