The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. The court's judges said there were reasonable grounds for the three men to have 'criminal responsibility' for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The warrant was issued on Thursday (November 21). The British media reported the news.
In a statement, the ICC said the Pre-Trial Chamber rejected the Israeli court's jurisdictional challenge and issued the warrant. A warrant has been issued for Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, but the Israeli military claims he was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July.
In May, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan applied for warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, Deif and two other Hamas leaders. Two of the Hamas leaders—Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar—have already been killed. Israel claimed Deif was also killed. However, the Chamber could not confirm the truth of this claim.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked southern Israel from Gaza, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. In response, Israel launched a military operation in Gaza to eliminate Hamas. About 44,000 people have been killed so far, according to Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan charged Hamas leaders with crimes against humanity and war crimes. These include serious charges such as genocide, murder, hostage-taking, rape and torture. On the other hand, Israeli leaders have been accused of killing and genocide, including deliberate attacks on civilians and using hunger as a weapon of war.
The ICC's 124 member states are now responsible for enforcing the warrant. That is, those countries are legally obliged to arrest them if they travel to these countries. However, Israel and its ally the United States are not members of the court and have rejected the allegations.
