At least three fatalities were reported after Israeli forces on Friday opened fire at the border, where demonstrators have been staging a protest on the right to return to what is now Israel, DW reported.

At least 40 people were reported to have been wounded, five of them seriously. The incident comes a week after at least 20 people were killed by Israeli troops at a similar protest.

Thousands had gathered at the Israel-Gaza frontier, with reports that mounds of tires were set alight to obscure the vision of Israeli snipers.

Protesters threw stones and Israeli troops fired tear gas and used live ammunition, purportedly to disperse the demonstrators. The Israeli military deployed fire hoses to spray thick liquid at the burning piles on the other side of the border fence.