130 Palestinians were wounded by the Israeli occupation as part of their response to peaceful demonstrations and return marches along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, which continued on Friday under the title "Together ... Gaza is rising and the West is joining forces."

While the Egyptian intelligence chief, Major General Ayman Badia, discussed ways to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the decision by the United States to send the US consulate in Jerusalem to its embassy in Israel, which transferred it to the holy city months ago.

Yesterday, clashes broke out between hundreds of Palestinians and the Israeli army on the outskirts of the eastern Gaza Strip, in the framework of the ongoing popular march for the seventh month in a row.

Yesterday's confrontations came amid escalating tensions with Israel, which threatened a military escalation against the Gaza Strip if protests against the return marches continue and what it sees as violence on its borders.

At the beginning of the clashes, medics said that nine Palestinians were wounded by live bullets, rubber bullets and suffocation due to the Israeli army repression. Demonstrators approached the border fence in the eastern Gaza Strip.

The demonstrators threw rubber tires, which were transported by thousands to the five return camps, to block the sight of the Israeli snipers who began shooting at the young men who participated in Friday's "Together ... Gaza is rising and the West is joining" in the eastern Gaza Strip.

Eyewitnesses were quoted as saying that an Israeli tank fired heavy gunfire at peaceful demonstrators in al-Sanati area east of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis.

Thousands of Palestinians arrived after the afternoon prayers to the tents of return on the eastern edge of the Gaza Strip, near the border fence with Israel.

The High Court for the Return of the Gaza Strip called for the broadest popular participation in the protests under the slogan "Together Gaza rises and the West is joining together."

Yesterday's Friday is the 30th day since the March 30 march, in which more than 200 Palestinians were martyred and 22,000 wounded, according to Palestinian statistics.

The protests demand an end to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip since mid-2007.

A senior Egyptian security delegation visited the Gaza Strip yesterday to meet with the Hamas leadership, the second visit in three days.

Following the visit of the Egyptian delegation, the Coordinator of the National Organization for Returning Movements Khaled Al-Batsh issued a statement in which he stressed that the marches on the borders of the Gaza Strip "continue until the goals that have been set in motion for them."

But Al-Batash stressed the importance of maintaining the peaceful and popular marches and their tools as a lever for national advancement. He called on the participants to take all measures that "prevent and miss the chance of Israeli snipers to harm peaceful participants."

He said that the most important message is the rally of the masses and their peaceful and popular ties, warning Israel against "the consequences of continuing to commit crimes against the participants in the march of return."

Meanwhile, the head of the Israeli National Security Council, Meir Ben Shabat, met with the deputy head of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Ayman Badia, after his recent meeting with Hamas leaders in Gaza.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation stated that the meeting was part of the contacts aimed at reaching a truce between Hamas and Israel.

He is the head of Hamas' political bureau in Gaza.

The news agency reported that the message conveyed by Badi in his talks with the parties is a cease-fire, and maintain calm.

Egyptian efforts come amidst tensions and mutual threats between Israel and Hamas to escalate.

Palestinian sources reported that Hamas told the Egyptian security delegation that the movement and other factions do not want to escalate on the borders of the Gaza Strip.

"We told the brothers in Egypt about the position of Hamas and the factions," said a Hamas source. "We do not want escalation with the enemy, but at the same time we are ready to respond to any aggression."

On Sunday, Israel launched a massive military buildup along the border with the Gaza Strip after Israel's cabinet decided to step up its response to any violent incidents in the Gaza Strip.

For its part, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, a warning message to Israel on its threats to launch a new attack on the Gaza Strip.

In Ramallah, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned yesterday the decision of the United States to attach the US consulate in Jerusalem to its embassy in Israel, which it transferred to the Holy City months ago.

The ministry said in a press statement that it rejects all American resolutions aimed at the Palestinian presence and the Palestinian right, and those specifically targeting East Jerusalem.

It considered that the recent American decision "completely conforms to the Israeli position and demands, considering that occupied East Jerusalem is part of Israel, practically ending any American expressions that existed, and touch or contradict this Israeli position."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced yesterday the termination of the US consulate in East Jerusalem as a separate US diplomatic and administrative body for the US Embassy in Israel, and fully annexed it to the US Embassy, ​​which was transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in line with President Trump's decision. The recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that the American decision "administrative in its wording, political in its content, reflects the American tendency to continue its fierce war against the Palestinian people and its capabilities and in violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions, which considers East Jerusalem to be a major part of the occupied Palestinian territory" .

She pointed out that this decision ends the 174-year-old situation, eliminates the intended separation of relations, ends the work of the consulate, and links the Palestinians with the work of the US Embassy in Israel.

It stressed "the commitment of the international community that East Jerusalem is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory and in rejecting all forms of annexation, replacement or change in the legal or demographic situation in occupied East Jerusalem." The Ministry announced that it would take all necessary legal, political or diplomatic steps to defend East Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the State of Palestine and as an occupied Palestinian territory, its occupation must be ended.

• The Egyptian intelligence chief is considering a truce between Israel and Hamas.