Dozens of Palestinians were killed in Gaza and more than 2,000 wounded as the Israeli army fired live ammunition and tear gas at protesters assembled along the fence with Israel on Monday.

It was the highest Palestinian death toll in a single day since a series of demonstrations dubbed the Great March of Return began on March 30 – and since the 2014 Gaza war.

Of the hundreds of wounded, the Ministry of Health said at least 74 were children, 23 were women, and eight were journalists.

“On this day, the Israeli massacre continues against our people,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on television from Ramallah.

Hundreds of protesters ventured to within several hundred metres of the barrier, while others moved even closer, rolling burning tyres and hurling stones. Israeli security forces fired volleys of tear gas and intense rounds of gunfire.

Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed at least 86 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and wounded more than 9,400.