Israel sent fighter jets, soldiers and snipers to the Gaza border in anticipation of a planned Palestinian protest, but Monday's demonstration was far more peaceful than expected.

The 5,000 or so Palestinians who converged on Israel's border near the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun formed human chains and chanted slogans against the Israeli blockade, which has severely restricted the flow of food and other vital supplies into the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian students form part of a human chain during a protest on Monday that called for the end to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
(Hatem Moussa/Associated Press)

Many of the protesters were women, children and university students.

"This protest is important to tell all the world that the Palestinian people live under a siege and in a bad situation," organizer Jamal Khudari said. "The world today must put pressure on Israel to end this siege because there is too much suffering."

He and other organizers had hoped 40,000 Palestinians would participate in the demonstration, enough to form a human chain along the 40-kilometre border separating Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Israel imposed the blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has a population of 1.5 million, after Hamas seized control of the territory in June. Israel tightened its restrictions recently in response to deadly rocket attacks launched by militant fighters in Gaza.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak told reporters that Israel wouldn't interfere with demonstrations inside Gaza, but also wouldn't hesitate to defend Israel's borders against any attempted breaches.

But while soldiers and police forces heavily patrolled the border, the only report of violence came from the Erez crossing, where about 50 youths threw stones and set tires on fire. They quickly dispersed when Israeli border police fired into the air.

Another 2,000 protesters tried to gather at the Erez crossing but were turned back by Hamas' own police, who were keeping tabs on the area.

Israel had feared the Palestinian protesters would break across the border and converge in Israel, as they did in Egypt last month.

At that Jan. 23 protest, Palestinian militants used landmines and a bulldozer to blow up part of the wall along the Gaza-Egypt border near the Palestinian town of Rafah. Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Egypt to buy food, candles, fuel, cleaning supplies and other items they struggle to find in their home territory.

Egypt has supported Israel's blockade, although other countries and international leaders have condemned it.

With files from the Associated Press