Israel’s military estimated that 40,000 demonstrators had turned up at several points along the border, adding that they threw rocks and in some cases “explosive devices” towards the fence.

The first fatality of the day, Muhammad Sa’ad, 20, was hit in the head by shrapnel caused by Israeli fire before dawn at an overnight protests before the main demonstration, Gaza’s health ministry said. Two 17-year-olds boys were shot dead later in the day, it said, while Belal al-Najjar, 17, later succumbed to wounds sustained in east Gaza Strip.