Gazans buried their dead on Saturday with calls for “revenge” a day after a mass protest led to clashes that saw Israeli forces kill 16 Palestinians in the bloodiest day since a 2014 war.
The angry funeral scenes came as the United States blocked a draft UN Security Council statement urging restraint and calling for an investigation into the clashes.
Only several hundred protesters returned to tents erected at sites near the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel to resume demonstrations planned to last six weeks in the blockaded enclave.
On the diplomatic front, UN chief Antonio Guterres and European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini called for an “independent and transparent investigation” into Israel’s use of live ammunition.
But a motion put forward before the UN Security Council by Kuwait late Saturday calling for such a move was rejected by the United States, a Security Council diplomat told AFP.
Israel defended the army fire at Palestinians who broke away from the main protest of tens of thousands and neared the heavily fortified fence around the Gaza Strip.
