He said several hundred people had bypassed a Hamas checkpoint to come within a few hundred metres (yards) of a concrete border barrier, in a huge march to mark the anniversary of Israel`s creation in 1948, in what is known in Arabic as the "nakba" or "catastrophe."
Around 1,000 people had gathered between the Islamist movement`s post, which lies just under a kilometre from the frontier, and another checkpoint slightly further out, he said.
Emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya said at least 52 people were wounded as Israeli soldiers opened fire, with five of them left in serious condition, including two minors.
Policemen of Hamas, which controls Gaza, were struggling to prevent the demonstrators from advancing to the border, many of whom were shouting: "No to the occupation!" and "Revolution, revolution to liberate Palestine!"
Among the marchers were a number of foreign peace activists wearing shirts bearing the image of an Italian colleague who was kidnapped and killed by Islamist radicals in the Gaza Strip exactly a month ago.
Further south, more than 5,000 demonstrators also held a mass rally in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which lies on the border with Egypt, an AFP correspondent said.
They waved Palestinian flags and held up huge replica wooden keys to homes they fled or were expelled from during the Arab-Israeli war which accompanied the creation of the Jewish state.
Since Friday, Palestinians and Arab Israelis have been staging a series of events in the run-up to Sunday`s anniversary.
More than 760,000 Palestinians -- estimated today to number 4.7 million with their descendants -- were pushed into exile or driven out of their homes in the conflict.
Around 160,000 Palestinians stayed behind and are now known as Arab Israelis. They number around 1.3 million people, or some 20 percent of Israel`s population. (*)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
