According to IDF officers, among the crowd of men, women, and children, a number of armed Palestinians were spotted. As they approached the Girit outpost, a helicopter fired one missile into an open area not far from the demonstrators as a warning for them to turn back. According to footage taken from the helicopter and drones, the missile exploded far from the demonstrators in an open area and no one was hit.

Undeterred, the protesters continued and the helicopter then fired flares into the open area ahead of them, which also failed to stop the crowd. Then soldiers directed machine-gun fire at the wall of an abandoned building as another warning.

When this failed to stop the crowd, a tank fired four shells at the same building and apparently one of the shells caused an explosion that hit demonstrators.

Yaron said the footage of the entire incident taken from the helicopter and drones is still being studied, but noted that shortly after the tank fired a number of shells there was an explosion. The road used by the protesters was strewn with bombs placed by terrorists against soldiers, she said.

"Our soldiers have not yet used the road, because it has been rigged with bombs and has not yet been cleared and made secure," she said. Asked why the tank fired four shells instead of one, Yaron said, "Deterrence fire in accordance with regulations is carried out in a series of three and one."