UN chief 'profoundly alarmed' by escalating violence, Palestinian deaths in Gaza protests

The international community is condemning the eruption of violence along the Gaza-Israel border on Monday, where Palestinians held mass protests against the official opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry,Israeli soldiers shot and killed at least 52 Palestinians, including five minors.lt also said 1,204 Palestinians were shot and wounded, including more than 100who were in serious or critical condition.

Palestinian protesters set tires on fire, sending plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border. Later on Monday, Israeli forces fired from tanks, sending protesters fleeing to take cover.

The Israeli armysaid Hamas-led protesterstried to plant bombs and attacked the border fence. It accused the militant group Hamas of using the protests as a cover for attacking Israel.

UNSecretary General Antonio Guterres is "profoundly alarmed by the sharp escalation of violence" along the Gaza-Israel border on Monday,a statement from his spokesperson said.

"Israel security forces must exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire," the statement said. "Hamas and the leaders of the demonstrations have a responsibility to prevent all violent actions and provocations."

Canada also called on "all parties to the conflict" to "ensure civilians are protected."

(In addition to protesting the U.S. Embassy move, Monday's Hamas-led protest was meant to be the biggest yet in weeks of border marches to try to break the blockade of Gaza imposed by Israel and Egypt in 2007.)

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, also addressed both sides of the conflict, saying Israel must respect the"principle of proportionality in the use of force," as well as "the right to peaceful protest."

At the same time, Mogherini said Hamas must make sure demonstrators in Gaza are peaceful and "must not exploit them for other means."

Severalcountries, including Egypt, Turkey, Qatar andIrandirectlyblamed Israel forMonday's violent clashes.

South Africa has recalled its ambassador to Israel, according to a spokesperson for theIsraeli foreign ministry. South Africa's relations with Israel have long been chilly, as the South African government supports the Palestinian cause.

Kuwait called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday to address the violence.

The Palestinian ambassadorto the UN, RiyadMansour, urged the security council to condemn the Israeli military's actions, calling them a "savage onslaught" and an "atrocity."

The UN Security Council previously held an emergency meeting in March when the protests along the Gaza-Israel border began, but couldn't agree on any action or joint message, although it urged restraint on both sides.

But Washington remained steadfast in its support of Israel, saying responsibility for the Palestinian deaths "rests squarely with Hamas."

"Hamas is intentionally and cynicallyprovoking this response," said White House spokesperson Raj Shah while speaking with reporters at a briefing. He accused Hamas's leaders of making a"gruesome and unfortunate propaganda attempt" at the sametime the U.S. was opening theembassy in Jerusalem.

Shah also declined to join with other countries, including France and Britain, in calling for Israel to exercise restraint in its response to the protests.

On Monday afternoon, an official from the U.S. Marine Corps saidseveral dozen additional Marines are beingdeployed to temporarilybeef up security at American embassies in Israel, Jordan and Turkey in the aftermath of the violence.