Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian protester and wounded about 200 others on Thursday in confrontations with several thousand people demonstrating in the occupied West Bank against a 17-day-old Israeli offensive in Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said.

The Israeli military confirmed troops has used “riot dispersal means” against protesters who threw rocks at police, set off fireworks and set piles of tyres on fire.

Gaza health officials report almost 800 Palestinians have been killed in fighting over the last 16 days, mostly civilians.

Israel has lost 32 soldiers, since widening its air campaign into a full-scale ground war.

Two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker in Israel have also been killed by rocket or mortar fire.