Gaza's Health Ministry says two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire at protests along the Gaza-Israel border fence.

The ministry said Friday that those killed were 18 and 29 years old, without elaborating. It added that 55 protesters were wounded.

Thousands attended the protests, including Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the militant Hamas group.

Haniyeh said that the protesters "insist on breaking" a blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed to isolate Hamas since it seized the Palestinian enclave in 2007.

The protest movement was unleashed this month a year ago. Since then, about 190 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed during the weekly rallies.

Egypt, Qatar and the U.N. have been negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but an agreement has yet to be reached.