The incident unfolded on Friday after thousands of Palestinians marched to the Israel border, starting a six-week-long protest.

The protest has been dubbed as the Great March of Return.

Condemning the incident, UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has ordered an independent investigation. The decision was taken after Palestinians officials claimed 16 compatriots were killed during clashed with Israeli soldiers.

According to Reuters news agency, UN deputy political affairs chief Taye-Brook Zerihoun told the council, "Israel must uphold its responsibilities under international human rights and humanitarian law."

However, maintaining its stance, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said that the protest was instigated by Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist organization.

On Friday, Israeli Defence Force had tweeted, "The Hamas terror organization endangers the lives of Gaza civilians and uses them for the purpose of terror. Hamas is responsible for the violent riots and all aggression from the GazaStrip."

"The Hamas terror organization is responsible for violent riots and everything taking place under its jurisdiction. The IDF will not allow the security fence to be turned into an area of terror," another tweet from IDF read.

Hamas senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh urged protesters not to concede a single inch of the land of Palestine, a BBC report said on Friday.

"There is no alternative to Palestine and no solution except to return," he was quoted as saying by the network.

Reacting strongly against the agitation, the Israeli foreign ministry said on Friday that it was a deliberate attempt to provoke a confrontation with Israel and that "responsibility for any clashes lies solely with Hamas and other participating Palestinian organisations."

Image: Twitter and Screebgrab from YouTube