Palestinians in Gaza have marched in their thousands to the Israel border at the start of a six-week-long protest.
Palestinian officials say one farmer and one protester have been killed and dozens of demonstrators wounded by Israeli gunfire.
The Israeli military reported “rioting” at six places and said it was “firing towards main instigators”.
Palestinians have pitched five camps near the border for the protest, dubbed the Great March of Return.
What is the latest at the border?
Palestinian media report about 7,000 people are protesting along the border.
Palestinian health officials said one protester had been shot dead near Jabaliya, naming him as Mohammed Najjar, 25, after earlier reporting the killing of 27-year-old farmer Omar Samour by Israeli tank fire near Khan Yunis.
The Palestinian Red Crescent says more than 50 people have been wounded by live fire. Tear gas has also been fired.
The shelling that killed the farmer also injured another man.
Witnesses say the two men were collecting parsley in a field, BBC Gaza producer Rushdi Abualouf reports.
Image copyright Reuters
Hamas, the militant group that dominates the Gaza Strip, has accused Israel of trying to intimidate Palestinians by killing the farmer and by urging them not to participate in the protests.
Addressing protesters, Hamas senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh said “we will not concede a single inch of the land of Palestine”.
The Jerusalem Post also reported a rare public appearance by the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yehiya Sinwar.
What have the Israelis said?
The Israeli military oversees a no-go zone along the Gaza border, citing security concerns, and has doubled its troop presence for the protest.
Image copyright EPA
Palestinians mass at Gaza-Israel border
It fears the protest could be an attempt at a mass breach of the border.
The military said that a tank had fired at two suspects after suspicious activity near a security fence near Khan Yunis and that it was aware of the reports of the death.
The Israel Defense Forces later said troops were “firing towards the main instigators” to break up rioting.
The Israeli foreign ministry has said the protest was a “deliberate attempt to provoke a confrontation with Israel” and that “responsibility for any clashes lies solely with Hamas and other participating Palestinian organisations”.
Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman took the unusual step of tweeting in Arabic, accusing Hamas of playing with citizens’ lives and warning people not to take part.
What is the protest about?
Palestinians have erected five main camp areas along the Israel border for the protest, from Beit Hanoun in the north to Rafah near the Egyptian border.
The Great March of Return protests were starting on Friday, as 30 March marks Land Day, which commemorates the killing of six protesters by Israeli security forces during demonstrations over land confiscation in 1976.
The protest is scheduled to end on 15 May, which Palestinians call Nakba (catastrophe) and which marks the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the conflict surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948.
Palestinians have long demanded their right to return but Israel says they should settle in a future Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank.
