Israel’s military announced Friday the deaths of four soldiers in Gaza, saying it needed thousands more troops to press its offensive, just as the premier’s coalition faces the prospect of collapse over ultra-Orthodox conscription.
News of the soldiers’ deaths came as Gaza’s civil defense agency reported 38 killed Friday in Israeli attacks across the territory, where Palestinians observed the Eid al-Adha holiday under the shadow of war for a second consecutive year.
Military spokesman Effie Defrin said the four soldiers were killed as they “were operating in the Khan Yunis area, in a compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization.”
“Around six in the morning, an explosive device detonated, causing part of the structure to collapse,” he said, adding that five other soldiers were