20,000 Palestinians join anti-Israel rally, 8 killed

About 20,000 Palestinians demonstrated in five locations along the Israel-Gaza border on Friday, the second climax of a six-week anti-Israel rally known as the Great March of Return, Xinhua news agency reported.

During the day of bloody confrontations with Israeli border soldiers, eight Palestinians were killed and about 1,300 others wounded, according to Palestinian sources.

Earlier in the day, the United Nations human rights office deplored the reported use of "excessive force" by Israeli soldiers during last week's protests in Gaza, where at least 16 people were killed and more than 1,000 others injured.

This Friday's protest, however, was smaller in scale than that of last Friday, which was estimated to bring together about 30,000 Palestinians.

The Israeli military responded with riot dispersal means, and fired in accordance with the rules of engagement, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement issued on Friday afternoon.