Nakba Day

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.