Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said on the 8th that Israeli ground forces are gathering and are about to enter Gaza City in the northern part of Gaza, warning local residents to leave immediately.
While inspecting the Israeli Air Force Command Center in Tel Aviv, he pointed out that the air force has destroyed multiple high-rise buildings used by Palestinian militants in Gaza City over the past two days, and that this is only the "beginning of the ground operation in Gaza City."
The Israel Defense Forces released a statement saying that four Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack near Gaza City on the morning of the 8th. This incident occurred in the outskirts of Gaza City, where the military has been conducting ground operations for several weeks.
According to preliminary findings cited by Haaretz, these soldiers had concluded a nighttime mission and were returning by tank to their camp outside the Radwan neighborhood in northern Gaza City when they were attacked by three Hamas militants. The militants threw an explosive device into the tank's hatch and exchanged fire with other Israeli soldiers.
The report stated that since the new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out in October 2023, 459 Israeli soldiers have died in Gaza. Among them, since Israel tore up the cease-fire agreement with Hamas in mid-March, 54 Israeli soldiers have died in Gaza.