Israel’s military announced on Friday that four soldiers were killed in Gaza while operating in the Khan Yunis area, raising the total military death toll in the territory to 429 since October 2023. Military spokesman Effie Defrin said an explosive device detonated inside a Hamas compound, causing part of the structure to collapse and leaving five more soldiers injured.
At the same time, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that at least 38 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across the enclave on Friday, a day when Muslims marked Eid al-Adha under continued bombardment. Residents faced harsh shortages of food, medicine, and clean water, even as Israel slightly eased its aid blockade in recent weeks.
Defrin also stated that the Israeli army urgently needs 10,000 additional soldiers, including 6,000 for frontline roles. He said that “tens of thousands” of draft notices will be issued soon. This demand reignites a heated debate within the Israeli government over the military exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews, threatening to fracture Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition.
Ultra-Orthodox parties have warned they will quit the government if Netanyahu fails to uphold exemptions, while public pressure is mounting to end the privilege, as reservist families face repeated call-ups. So far, only 232 out of 18,000 ultra-Orthodox draft notices received a positive response, a military official told parliament earlier this year.
Meanwhile, criticism of Netanyahu grew after reports surfaced that his government supported an armed faction in Gaza allegedly involved in looting aid convoys. Former Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman accused the prime minister of “arming criminals,” further adding to the domestic turmoil.
As the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza, many families were unable to celebrate Eid. At Nasser Hospital, a grieving mother told reporters, “I bought him Eid clothes yesterday. He didn’t wear them — he’s wearing a white shroud now.” The war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack that killed 1,218 people in Israel, has now claimed over 54,000 lives in Gaza, most of them civilians.