A senior Israel Defense Force commander said on Tuesday that of the 58 Gazans killed during deadly border riots on Monday, 14 were carrying out attacks and 14 others were known terrorists affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Two Palestinians rioters were killedon Tuesday, during Hamas-orchestrated Nakba Day demonstrations on the border, marking the displacement of Palestinians during Israel's 1948 War of Independence.
Still, the international criticism leveled at Israel and Hamas over Monday's deadly riots prompted Hamas to pull back, as Tuesday's protests were far less violent than expected.
Only 4,000 violent rioters demonstrated along the border fence with Gaza on Tuesday, significantly fewer than the 40,000 who rioted there Monday. Despite the reduction in number, they also hurled Molotov cocktails, set tires on fire and sent incendiary kites into Israeli territory.
The military said troop opened fire at protesters who were hurling firebombs and grenades at the troops, as well as on terrorists who had fired on them and tried to set off explosives by the security fence.
The IDF revealed Tuesday that in one incident, Maglan special forces, who specialize in advanced warfare behind enemy lines, engaged and killed eight Hamas terrorists dressed as protesters.
The incident took place several feet from the security fence. Grenades, ammunition, weapons, landmines and cutting tools were found on the scene when the dust settled.
The IDF said the weapons were to be used by two cells, made up of four operatives each.
"This shows how terrorists exploit civilian protesters, hiding among them to carry out shooting attacks and place mines," said Maglan's deputy commander, Maj. I.
"We are ready for this and know how to identify this type of activity," he said. "The troops are constantly deployed in front of the demonstrators. There were some 1,500 demonstrators on the border and we could see how a number of operatives were directing protesters to move from place to place so that we would move also.
"At a certain point, we received intelligence about a cell that was going to try to carry out a terrorist attack. Then we saw that those same operatives were moving the masses and they quickly dispersed. At this stage, they started shooting and throwing pipe bombs and grenades at us. We returned fire at four terrorists and neutralized them. We then noticed a vehicle with another cell racing toward us and opening fire, and they were also neutralized."
I. said that "those directing the demonstrations are the same ones who give instructions to the masses to torch tires, throw stones and gather in front of IDF positions to divert the forces' attention in the hope that they could find the right moment to perpetuate an attack. Our mission is clear: to protect the towns of the area surrounding [Gaza]," he said.
In another incident Monday, Israeli soldiers killed three terrorists near Rafah in southern Gaza who, under the cover of fog, placed land mines along the border fence.
Also on Tuesday, the IDF presented additional proof that Hamas stepped up its use of civilians as human shields in an effort to portray Israeli soldiers attacking innocent civilians.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad increasingly hide behind women, children and people with disabilities until the time is right for them to strike Israeli troops. In addition, a trend has emerged of men dressing as women and approaching the fence intending to carry out attacks, the military said.
IDF soldiers have recently reported a phenomenon of women leading those approaching the fence every time there are disturbances. Almost all are reportedly armed with slingshots, some with Molotov cocktails.
