LATEST: Gaza sees more protests and violence on Nakba Day, after 62 killed

On Tuesday, Palestinians mark the Nakba (or "catastrophe"), when hundreds of thousands were driven from their homes or else fled amid the conflict which followed the creation of the state of Israel.

This year is more auspicious than most, given it is now 70 years since the events of 1948. The anniversary was a key reason behind many of the protests and marches seen across Palestine on Monday.

If you need a brief introduction on what happened during the Nakba, this interactive is a good place to start.

In a sign that tensions are at a height along the Israeli-Gazan border, a rocket warning signal was sounded in southern Israel.

The Israeli military said soon after that the warning was a false alarm.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for any rockets that are sent from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, often conducting airstrikes in the coastal enclave in response.

A Palestinian baby has died after inhaling tear gas smoke during the protests in the Gaza Strip on Monday, Gaza's health ministry said on Tuesday.

Eight-month-old Leila al-Ghandour was exposed to the tear gas, which Israeli forces repeatedly fired into the crowds yesterday, east of Gaza City.

It was not immediately clear how close Ghandour was to the border with Israel. Protest sites along the border have sections closer to the border fence as well as sections for families further back.

Good morning and welcome to Middle East Eye's live blog. We will be bringing you the latest developments from the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jerusalem.

Yesterday saw Israeli forces firing on protesters along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, killing 58 Palestinians and wounding more than 2,400. It also witnessed a ceremony in Jerusalem opening the United States' controversial new embassy, sparking protests in the city and across the occupied West Bank.

Today is Nakba Day, the 70th anniversary of the Palestinians' "Catastrophe", when some 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled from their homes, 15,000 were killed and 418 towns and villages were ethnically cleansed or wiped off the map during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Today is also expected to be the culmination of the "Great March of Return" protests in Gaza, which have been running every Friday since 30 March and drawn live fire from Israeli soldiers along the border, killing several Palestinians before yesterday's escalation.

After the violence witnessed on Monday, which was described as a "massacre" by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and "genocide" by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Gaza is now bracing itself for more protests and more killings.

For more on Monday's contrasting events in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, read this piece by Hind Khoudary, Lubna Masarwa, and Chloe Benoist.

MEE will be here all day, with all the latest as Palestinians in historic Palestine and abroad mark 70 years since the Nakba.

Good evening from the US team.

We can report that, in the last several hours: 

• The death toll from Gaza has climbed to 58
• South Africa has recalled its Israeli ambassador
• Turkey has recalled both its Israeli and American ambassadors
• The United States blamed today's events on Hamas
• The US has blocked a call for an independent Gaza inquiry at the UN
• Seven journalists were reported wounded in today's events

Thank you for reading and the folks in London will pick this live blog up on Tuesday morning. 

While the US team wraps up for the night, we thought we'd show you some images from the events that took place in Gaza on Monday. Every image is from Reuters:

Two-thirds of the United Nations Security Council expressed "profound concern" on Monday that a 2016 resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building on land that Palestinians want for an independent state was not being implemented.

The letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from 10 members of the 15-member council came on the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014. Israeli troops fatally shot scores of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border as the Trump administration opened the US embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.

"The Security Council must stand behind its resolutions and ensure they have meaning; otherwise, we risk undermining the credibility of the international system," wrote Bolivia, China, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, France, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru and Sweden in the letter seen by Reuters.

Seven Palestinian journalists have been injured by Israeli forces at the Gaza border on Monday, according to the group Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS).

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement, condemning the violence and citing the PJS's work.

"The number of Palestinian journalists injured by gunfire in Gaza has grown by the week," said Sherif Mansour, the Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator.

"The fact that Israeli authorities have ignored demands that they halt the use of live fire against journalists reinforces the perception that they do not want the world to see what is happening in Gaza."

According to the CPJ statement, the injured journalists are Omar Hamdan, Mohammed Abu Dahrouj, Abdullah al-Shorbagi, Farhan Hashem Abu Hadayd, Yasser Qudeih, Nihad Fuad, and Wael Dahdouh.

The seven hurt range from freelancers, reporters and camerapeople.

The United States on Monday blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe of deadly violence on the Israel-Gaza border, which erupted as the new US embassy in Jerusalem was opened, diplomats said.

"The Security Council expresses its outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest," read a draft of the statement, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

"The Security Council calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these actions to ensure accountability," read the text.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza in a statement released late on Monday and reiterated his opposition to the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Macron talked with Jordan's King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday and is planning to talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, the presidency said.

"(Macron) lamented the large number of Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza today and over the past few weeks," the French presidency said.

"He condemned the violence of Israeli armed forces against demonstrators."

The White House on Monday blamed Hamas for deadly violence on Israel's border with Gaza where Israeli troops fatally shot at least 55 Palestinian protesters.

White House spokesman Raj Shah accused Hamas' leaders of making a "gruesome and unfortunate propaganda attempt" that led to the clashes in Gaza at the same time the United States was opening its new embassy in Jerusalem, a move that has fueled Palestinian anger.

"The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas," Shah said. "Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused Israel of "state terror" and "genocide" after Israeli forces killed at least 55 Palestinians on the Gaza border.

"Israel is wreaking state terror. Israel is a terror state," Erdogan told Turkish students in London in a speech broadcast by state television. "What Israel has done is a genocide. I condemn this humanitarian drama, the genocide, from whichever side it comes, Israel or America," he added.

In addition to South Africa, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel on Monday. The country also recalled its US ambassador.