IDF Estimates 100 Soldiers Could Be Killed in Gaza City Assault

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is preparing to present its operational plan for seizing control of Gaza City, with military leaders warning the assault could cost the lives of up to 100 Israeli soldiers.

Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir, Operations Directorate head Maj. Gen. Itzik Cohen, and Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asur will brief the political echelon on the plan, which is expected to receive Defense Minister Israel Katz’s approval as early as Thursday before going to the security cabinet.

The blueprint calls for the mobilization of some 130,000 reservists, with current call-ups extended from 70 to 100 days and new mobilization orders issued in the coming weeks. The IDF has already encircled parts of Gaza City through fighting in the Sabra and Zeitoun neighborhoods, while preparing humanitarian infrastructure in Khan Younis to receive civilians displaced from Gaza hospitals.

Military officials say the ground maneuver will be preceded by heavy bombardments designed to “soften” Hamas defenses. A senior security source said Israel now faces a crossroads: agree to a prisoner-exchange deal with Hamas that includes its disarmament, or launch a full-scale assault to “destroy the murderers.”

The plan has drawn criticism from the activist group “Imma Era” (Mothers for Soldiers), which denounced the military’s framing of casualties as a “price tag” for the operation.

“A plan that is priced at 100 soldiers dead is sheer madness,” the group said.

“Our children are being sent to die in a war without purpose, while the government does nothing to dismantle Hamas’s rule.”