RAFAH, May 21: The Israeli army on Friday pulled out of several areas of Rafah amid an international outcry over the killings of more than 40 Palestinians there this week in a devastating military raid.

The rubble of dozens of homes levelled by Israeli bulldozers lined streets pitted with huge craters in Rafah town and the adjoining refugee camp, located near the border with Egypt.

An Israeli army spokesman said "Operation Rainbow", launched early on Tuesday to stamp out cross-border weapons smuggling from Egypt and arrest wanted militants, was continuing and that the troop withdrawal was merely a "redeployment."

Israeli forces abandoned the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah, where they used tanks and helicopters to disperse a protest on Wednesday against their operation, killing 10 Palestinians, including children. Palestinian security sources said most of the estimated 100 tanks and other vehicles had left but some armour took up new positions outside the camp.

The army on Friday offered an explanation for the civilian deaths, which drew widespread international condemnation, saying it had fired on demonstrators to protect a secret special unit from being surrounded.

In the Salam and Brazil neighbourhoods, only a few tanks and armoured vehicles were still in position on Friday, although a curfew remained in effect. Israeli military sources said infantry units in the two areas had been pulled out.

By late afternoon, Rafah was largely quiet save for the occasional crackle of gunfire. The Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood remained closed off from the rest of the town as residents of the Brazil area sifted through the piles of debris.

The army spokesman said soldiers were still searching for tunnels believed to be used to smuggle weapons, but acknowledged that not one new tunnel had been discovered since the launch of the raid.

The troops left behind leaflets in the ravaged town - where a total of 42 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli raid - calling on the population to prevent "terrorists" from operating in the area. -Reuter/AFP