Gaza IDF commander: Rafah damages caused by terrorists, not IDF

The deterrent fire aimed near demonstrators marching toward Tel el-Sultan in Rafah refugee camp on Wednesday, a result of which eight Palestinians were killed, was the last resort in preventing the armed Palestinians within the crowd from attacking soldiers and isolating an undercover unit from the rest of the troops, Brig.-Gen. Shmuel Zakai, Gaza division commander, told reporters at a briefing Friday.

Regarding footage of plowed up roads, Zakai said these were the result of terrorists placing bomb underneath the road surface and covering them up with asphalt, so as to detonate as troops entered the camp. Similarly, many of the damaged houses documented by Palestinians are a product of powerful explosives placed by terrorists inside the walls of houses to harm IDF troops searching the area.