Thousands of Palestinians flocked to the Gaza Strip on the border with Israel on Wednesday to protest in response to the call by the Highest Commission of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege to mark the 71st anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the day after Israel declared its independence in 1948.

The demonstrators burnt car tires and tried to cross the border fence with Israel, while all the Palestinian cities were in a commercial strike, and educational and governmental institutions closed their doors.

Palestinian factions confirmed they are firmly present in these marches, and that they won't stop border protests until the Palestinian demands end the Israeli blockade that had been imposed on the Gaza Strip for over 11 years are met. 

"These million-man rallies are an instrument of the struggle of the Palestinian people in the face of the occupation. Israel has no other option but to end the blockade on Gaza," Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum told CGTN.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip demonstrate since March 2018 every week on the border with Israel to demand to lift the siege.

The 71st Nakba Day coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to relocate the American Embassy to Jerusalem, which the Palestinians consider to be their own future capital. That decision led to fierce clashes where dozens were killed and hundreds injured.

"Our fathers and grandfathers had been displaced from historical Palestine more than 70 years ago. We took out today to say to Israel that this generation will never forget, we will continue to fight to achieve the dream of returning to our original villages, this right will not drop by all Israeli plans and American deals in the region," 26-year-old protester Mohamad Yonis said.

Meanwhile, Israeli reports said the Israeli army deployed more troops on the border with the Gaza Strip. The reports said further the army closed down all roads that lead to the area of the fence of the border with the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.

An Israeli army spokesman warned people in the Gaza Strip not to reach the border fence or damage the infrastructure as such move would put them at risk.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza declared that the Israeli army had injured 60 Palestinians during their participation in events commemorating the 71st anniversary of the Nakba Day as of May 15.

Palestinian armed factions said they would monitor how the army treats this march and other protests. They said more rocket fire targeting Israeli cities are coming if any Palestinians were killed. 

This year marks 71 years after the Nakba of 1948, where more than a million Palestinians were uprooted from their homes and villages and became residents of refugee camps set up in the Gaza Strip and neighboring countries. Israel built large cities and settlements at the place of the former Palestinian villages and celebrates this day each year as the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel.

(Cover: Angry Palestinian protesters at the border with Israel. /CGTN Photo)

(With input from Xinhua)