A Palestinian was killed and 176 were wounded by Israeli army fire as thousands of Gaza residents protested near their sealed border - part of a weeks-long campaign to end a decade-old blockade of the territory.
Vandals later burned a fuel complex and a conveyor belt on the Palestinian side of Gaza's main cargo crossing with Israel, causing more than $US9 million in damages and disrupting the import of diesel fuel and building materials, the military said.
A Palestinian flashes the V-sign in front of burning tyres along the border with the Gaza strip. Source: AAP
Friday's clashes offered a preview of what will likely be a much larger protest - and possibly a border breach - on Monday when the United States relocates its embassy in Israel to contested Jerusalem amid Palestinian outrage.
President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the embassy there "is causing the volcano to spew," said 25-year-old protester Ahmed Deifallah as he stood near the Gaza border, a Palestinian flag draped around his head.
Deifallah, who is unemployed like almost half the Gaza labor force, said he would also join Monday's protest and is not afraid to die.
Friday marked the seventh weekly border protest since late March. The demonstrations have been organized by Gaza's Hamas rulers, but are fuelled by despair among the territory's 2 million people. The vast majority are barred from travel and trade, while the blockade has gutted the economy.
As in previous weeks, thousands flocked to five tent camps near the border - some 15,000 people, according to the Israeli military.
From the camps, smaller groups moved closer to the fence. They threw stones, burned tires and flew kites with burning rags attached to them, hoping to steer them into Israel to set fields on fire.
The area was quickly engulfed in thick black smoke from the burning tires.
Israeli soldiers, some crouching behind sand berms, fired live bullets and tear gas volleys from the other side of the fence.
The Gaza Health Ministry said a 40-year-old protester was killed and 176 were wounded by Israeli fire Friday. Ten of the wounded were in serious condition, including a 16-year-old boy who was shot in the head.
Nearly 800 others were overcome by tear gas or suffered other types of injuries.
Friday's death brought to 41 the number of protesters killed since March 30. In the same period, more than 1,800 were wounded by Israeli fire.
Despite such risks, Gaza's Hamas leader, Yehiyeh Sinwar, has said he expects tens of thousands to participate in Monday's protest. He has raised the possibility of a mass border breach, comparing protesters to a "starving tiger," unpredictable and full of pent-up anger.
The protests are part of a campaign to break the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militant Hamas overran Gaza in 2007.
On Monday, they are also aimed at the inauguration of the U.S. Embassy, which comes five months after Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital - a decision that outraged Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel.
