The European Union said Tuesday it was "appalled" by the deaths of two Gazans during clashes with Hamas security forces, as human rights groups demand independent inquiries into the two deaths.

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Hassan Abu Zayed, a 23-year-old Gazan, was driving on Sunday night when he was shot dead by Hamas security forces as he rushed through a checkpoint.

According to the Hamas Interior Ministry, security forces spotted a car driving toward them as they manned the checkpoint in the al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City. The driver ignored the calls, Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad Bozm said.

"Two shots were fired at the vehicle which did not stop and sought to flee. The passenger was therefore injured and was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries," said al-Bozm.

Imad Tawil, a 27-year-old resident of Deir al-Balah, was reportedly shot dead by Hamas police early Sunday when officers raided the city's al-Nuseirat refugee camp.

Half an hour later, Tawil started complaining of chest pain before collapsing. Although he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he later died, according to the Independent Human Rights Commission.

The European Union, along with Palestinian human rights groups, are calling for independent investigations into the two incidents.

"A full, independent and transparent investigation should be carried out immediately so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice," the EU envoy tweeted to the Palestinians.

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More than 130 leaders from the entertainment industry have signed a joint statement released by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community For Peace calling on fellow entertainers and executives to use their platforms to combat misleading and one-sided accounts of the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

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The open letter urges those in the entertainment community to use their voice to call for the de-escalation of violence and the end to divisive rhetoric while also acknowledging the pain and loss impacting all parties involved in the conflict.

Gene Simmons of KISS, singer Michael Bublé, producer Haim Saban, and actress Selma Blair are among nearly 130 signers of the joint statement, which was made public Friday.

"We are deeply concerned by the escalating violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories," the statement reads. "The loss of life and violence is heartbreaking. We call on the leaders of all parties to end the violence, urge calm, and work toward de-escalation."

The statement's signers are among the first in the entertainment industry to publicly promote peace while also opposing a surge of deceptive media narratives that have dominated the news cycle since tensions escalated nearly a week ago.

"We also call on our colleagues and friends in the entertainment community to stop posting misinformation and one-sided narratives that only work to inflame the conflict instead of bringing about peace," the statement continues.

"Misinformed and fallacious memes being posted by those far away from the conflict are being taken for truth," said Ari Ingel, Director of Creative Community for Peace. "This distorted version of reality is being spread online and then amplified by influencers, which only fans the flames of hatred and has real life consequences."

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The first responders known as White Helmets said Monday that rescue workers were still searching for survivors under the rubble after the airstrikes hit a crowded residential street in the town of Ariha. They said five women and a child were killed.

The airstrikes hit the town amid intense government bombardment in Idlib province and its environs.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says there were more than 100 air raids and as many as 93 barrel bombs dropped Monday on the southern section of the rebel stronghold.

A top opposition official warned on Monday that Russian-backed Syrian government forces would be able to advance all the way to the Turkish border if they pierce rebel defenses in the northwest, a top opposition official said, urging Turkey to do more to shield the area from a major attack.

The month-long onslaught is the most serious escalation of the war between President Bashar al-Assad and his enemies since last summer. Syrian government air strikes and barrel bombing backed by Russian air power have uprooted around 250,000 people in the territory, the last significant rebel stronghold.

Fawaz Hilal, head of the "Salvation Government" that runs Idlib province, expressed confidence that opposition fighters gathered in the Idlib region from all over Syria would be able resist the onslaught.

"This ferocious attack is a bone-breaking battle. If the regime is able to break our defensive lines in northern Hama and southern Idlib it will not stop until it reaches the borders," Hilal told Reuters in an interview.

His government, backed by the powerful Tahrir al-Sham jihadist group, had called on its employees to help shoulder the "military burden" through building sandbag defences, manning front lines, financial support or any other help.

"We are all concerned with repelling this attack," he said.

The bombardment has killed 229 civilians and injured 727 since April 28, according to The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), a U.S.-based medical NGO.

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Sirens blared across the country at 11 a.m., bringing traffic on roads and highways throughout Israel to a halt as pedestrians stopped in place to bow their heads in silence.

A state ceremony for fallen soldiers at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem began immediately following the moment of silence, with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin in attendance.

Speaking at the ceremony, Netanyahu vowed never to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons as Tehran announced that it was rolling back its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Netanyahu was scheduled to attend another ceremony later Wednesday afternoon in honor of victims of terrorist attacks.

Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism is a solemn day in Israel, with over 1.5 million Israelis were expected to pay their respects at the gravesides of those killed in wars or terror attacks throughout Israel's history in 52 official military cemeteries and hundreds of other smaller military sections in civilian cemeteries across the country.

At ceremonies on Tuesday evening, both Netanyahu and Rivlin told bereaved families that the sacrifice of Israel's fallen soldiers has allowed the Jewish people to live freely in their homeland and vowed to continue working to return the bodies of fallen soldiers still missing.

Memorial Day commemorations began Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. with another moment of silence ushering in the annual 24-hour period of mourning that will transition to patriotic celebration of Israel's 71st Independence Day on Wednesday evening.

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"The rocket fire from Gaza towards Israel must stop immediately. A de-escalation of this dangerous situation is urgently needed to ensure that civilians' lives are protected," a spokesperson for European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Saturday evening.

"Israelis and Palestinians both have the right to live in peace, security and dignity. Only a political solution can put an end to the violence. Efforts by Egypt and the UN to calm the situation have the European Union's full support," the EU spokesperson added.

But cease-fire talks brokered by Egypt and the UN envoy brought no results Sunday as the situation continued to deteriorate as two more Palestinians and three Israelis were killed, while others were wounded in ongoing rocket attacks and Israeli reprisals.

"The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel," the State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

"We call on those responsible for the violence to cease this aggression immediately."

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro posted to his personal Twitter account a video showing residents in Israel's southern communities driving amid incoming rocket fire and large explosions surrounding nearby buildings.

"On today's more than 150 rockets, departing from the Gaza Strip, were launched against Israel, reaching Jewish civilians," his post read translated from Portuguese.

Germany's foreign ministry also condemned the "massive rocket fire" on Israel writing on its Twitter account, "There is nothing that could justify attacks on civilians. Israel has the right to defend itself and to protect its citizens."

Austria also expressed its support for "Israel's right to defend itself" while "strongly" condemning the Gaza rocket fire, said government spokesman Peter Launsky.

"Austria firmly stands behind Israel as the security of the country and its population is a raison d'état for Austria," Launsky said.

Estonia's foreign ministry denounced the "indiscriminate attacks against civilians are completely unacceptable."

A number of European ambassadors to Israel also expressed their solidarity with the residents of Israel's vulnerable southern communities and condemnation of the Gaza flare-up.

In contrast, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blasted Israel on Sunday for apparently striking the building housing Turkey's state news agency.

"We strongly condemn Israel's attack against Anadolu Agency's office in Gaza," Erdogan wrote on Twitter.

"Turkey and Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine despite such attacks," he vowed.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after it was hit by the IDF, which claimed that the eight-story building was used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups for terror activities.

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Michelle Bachelet, speaking to a news conference in Geneva, voiced deep concern for 7,000 civilians who she said were trapped between Islamic State fighters preventing them from leaving Deir ez-Zor, and airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.

"We also have reports of ISIS executing people perceived as cooperating with SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] or other parties to the conflict," she said, adding that civilians were being used as "pawns and bargaining chips" in the conflict.

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