The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, has issued warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The court has also issued a warrant for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, a leader of the Hamas terrorist group whom Israeli authorities believe may already be dead. He is sometimes known as Mohammed Deif.
The court said the warrants were for “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.”
The ICC said Netanyahu and Gallant bore criminal responsibility for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said, “Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions leveled against it by ICC.”
‘Dangerous Joke’
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said: “The court is a dangerous joke. It is now time for the U.S. Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body.”
Gallant was fired by Netanyahu earlier this month and replaced by Israel Katz.
In a statement, Hamas said, “We call on the International Criminal Court to expand the scope of accountability to all criminal occupation leaders.”
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said, “This is an important step on the path to justice and bringing justice to the victims, but it remains a limited and spiritual step if it is not backed practically by all countries.”
The Israel–Hamas conflict began after Hamas sent gunmen across the border into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, massacred 1,200 people, and took 250 hostages.
Israel later sent troops into the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas and rescue hostages, who had been taken into tunnels by the terrorists.
The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said 43,300 people have been killed since the conflict began. The health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
It will now be up to the ICC’s 124 member states to decide whether to enforce the warrants.
Israel and the United States are not members of the ICC.
Netanyahu has previously condemned ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for warrants against him and Gallant as disgraceful and anti-Semitic.
U.S. President Joe Biden has also criticized the decision and expressed his support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas.
Hamas has criticized the warrant against Deif, whom Israel believes is dead.
The issuing of the warrants could complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to end the 13-month conflict.
The court said the arrest warrants were classified as secret to protect witnesses and the integrity of the investigation.
But the ICC said it had decided to release information about them because “conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing.”
It said it believed it was “in the interest of victims and their families” that the public know the warrants exist.
The ICC said it had already ruled it had jurisdiction over the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The court said it rejected two legal challenges brought by Israel under articles 18 and 19 of the Rome statute.
In September, Israel challenged the court’s jurisdiction over the “situation in the state of Palestine” in general, and over Israeli nationals.
Israel also asked the court to halt proceedings against Netanyahu and Gallant, following an initial warrant in May.
In a statement on its website, the ICC said of Netanyahu and Gallant, “The chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity, from at least Oct. 8, 2023 to May 20, 2024.”
It goes on to state that, along with cutting off electricity and reducing fuel supplies, the two leaders had a “severe impact” on the ability of hospitals to provide medical care.
The ICC said that by intentionally limiting or preventing medical supplies from getting into the Gaza Strip, in particular anesthetics, Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible for “inflicting great suffering by means of inhumane acts on persons in need of treatment.”
