The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri. The warrants stem from alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the ongoing Gaza conflict.
The ICC judges found sufficient evidence to suggest that Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts such as murder, persecution, and using starvation as a weapon of war, as part of a “widespread and systematic attack on Gaza’s civilian population”.
The ruling sparked outrage in Israel, which condemned it as both shameful and absurd. Meanwhile, Hamas expressed support for the warrants, with a senior official describing it as a crucial step toward achieving justice.
Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the ICC, which is based in The Hague, and denies committing war crimes in Gaza. The United States, a key ally of Israel, is also not a member of the ICC.
The warrant for Ibrahim Al-Masri includes charges of mass killings during the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which sparked the Gaza war. He is also accused of rape and taking hostages.
Israel has claimed to have killed Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July, but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death. The ICC prosecution has stated it will continue to collect information regarding the reports of his demise.
(With Reuters inputs)