Israeli PM says over 100 Palestinian militants killed over past week

Jerusalem, Jan 1

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that in the past week, more than 100 Palestinian militants were killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with dozens being killed daily.

Netanyahu made the remarks on Sunday at the start of a government meeting at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Last week they (the troops) eliminated over 100 terrorists ... Dozens of terrorists were eliminated on a daily basis, sometimes even more than this. We will eliminate Hamas, bring back our hostages, and win the war," he added.

An IDF statement released later on Sunday showed that Israeli soldiers are continuing to operate in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The soldiers are coordinating operations with armoured, engineering, and air forces units to locate and destroy infrastructure and kill Palestinian militants in close-quarters combat scenarios.

At the Sunday meeting, talking about the national backing to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Netanyahu noted that nine billion shekels (about $2.5 billion) have been conveyed to the reservists and their families, and the state also supports the reservists' right to be elected.

According to a statement from Israel's Government Press Office, the government on Sunday unanimously approved the signing of an order to postpone local elections until February 27, 2024, which were supposed to be held in October this year.

The postponement was made as 688 reservists, who cannot be discharged, are running in 144 local authorities, said the statement, citing the IDF data.

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