At 100-day mark of war, Netanyahu doubles down on pledge to 'destroy Hamas'

Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The war between Israel and Hamas, now 100 days old, has claimed the lives of more than 24,000 people, and continues to grind on with no end in sight.

A total 125 Palestinians have been killed and 265 wounded in the last 24 hours alone, according to reports from Al Jazeera. The death toll in Israel from the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas attacks remains at 1,139. Five Palestinians were killed in the West Bank Sunday, including three children.

U.S. President Joe Biden released a statement commenting on 100 days of war in Gaza, calling it a "devastating and tragic milestone" for those still held captive.

"I will never forget the grief and the suffering I have heard in my meetings with the families of the American hostages. No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through, much less 100," Biden said in a statement, which did not mention the nearly 24,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza.

"On this terrible day, I again reaffirm my pledge to all the hostages and their families - we are with you. We will never stop working to bring Americans home," he said.

Biden has reaffirmed his commitment to try to negotiate the release of hostages taken after the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel, even after talks stalled following a week-long pause in fighting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has negotiated several military stand downs with his adversary to allow civilians to escape the ravages of the war, has remained steadfast in his commitment to "destroy Hamas."

Protestors rallied worldwide over the weekend for an end to the bloodshed.

The war has also taken an unprecedented death toll on journalists, at least 68 of whom have been reported killed in the latest chapter of the war between Israel and Hamas, the most recent of which include Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya, an Al-Jazeera journalist and a freelance journalist who contributed to France's AFP newswire, Al Jazeera said. A third passenger who was in the car during an Israeli military attack, identified as Hazem Rajab, was also killed.

Al-Jazeera strongly condemned the attack in a statement that said the slaying of the journalists "reaffirms the need to take immediate necessary legal measures against the occupation forces to ensure that there is no impunity."

The Committee to Protect Journalists has previously criticized Israel's war on Hamas for its "record toll" on journalists.

"The Israeli army has killed more journalists in 10 weeks than any other army or entity has in any single year," said CPJ's Sherif Mansour. "And with every journalist killed, the war becomes harder to document and to understand."

"Journalists are civilians and must be treated as such under international humanitarian law," Mansour said in December.