The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said today that he is seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders.
In an interview on Monday, Karim Khan said the arrest warrants relate to war crimes and crimes against humanity following the terrorist group’s deadly attack on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.
He said arrest warrants were being sought against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (also known as Mohammed Deif), the leader of the Al Qassem Brigades – Hamas’s military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas.
Khan told CNN that the charges against the trio include “extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape and sexual assault in detention.”
“The world was shocked on October 7 when people were torn from their bedrooms, from their homes and from the various kibbutzim in Israel,” Khan told CNN host Christiane Amanpour, adding that “people suffered immensely.”
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said today that he is seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant – as well as three Hamas leaders.
Khan said arrest warrants have been requested against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (pictured, file photo), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (aka Mohammed Deif), the leader of the Al Qassem Brigades – Hamas’s military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh , the political leader of Hamas. leader
In a separate statement, he said he had seen firsthand the devastating scenes of these attacks and the profound impact of the unscrupulous crimes charged in today’s filings.
“As I spoke to survivors, I heard how the love within a family, the deepest bonds between a parent and a child, were twisted to inflict unfathomable pain through calculated cruelty and extreme callousness. These actions require accountability.”
He also said that the ICC has applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for their part in the attack on the Gaza Strip that continues today.
“We have applied for arrest warrants – of course the judges have to decide whether to issue them or not, but we applied today,” he told Amanpour.
He said the charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include “crimes of causing extermination, causing famine as a method of war, including denying humanitarian aid, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”
Speaking about the Israeli actions, Khan said in a statement that “the effects of the use of famine as a method of war, along with other attacks and collective punishments against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and well known.”
“These include malnutrition, dehydration, severe suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including infants, other children and women,” he added.
The United Nations and other aid agencies have repeatedly accused Israel of hampering aid efforts during the war. Israel denies this, saying there are no restrictions on aid entering Gaza, and accuses the UN of failing to distribute aid.
The UN says aid workers have repeatedly come under Israeli fire, and continued fighting and a security vacuum have hampered deliveries.
Israel began its war in response to a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage.
The Israeli offensive has killed around 35,000 Palestinians, at least half of them women and children, according to the latest estimates from health officials in Gaza.
The Israeli offensive has also triggered a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with roughly 80 percent of the population displaced and hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of starvation, according to UN officials.
The prosecutor must apply for the arrest warrants to a panel of three judges, which takes an average of two months to review the evidence and determine whether the proceedings can proceed.
Israel is not a member of the court, and even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant are not at immediate risk of prosecution.
In an interview on Monday, Karim Khan (pictured in April) said the arrest warrants relate to war crimes and crimes against humanity following the terrorist group’s deadly attack on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.
An arrest warrant is also being sought for Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (photo)
But Khan’s announcement deepens Israel’s isolation as the country continues its war, and the threat of arrest could make it difficult for Israeli leaders to travel abroad.
Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be hiding in Gaza as Israel tries to track them down. But Haniyeh, the Islamic militant group’s supreme leader, is based in Qatar and regularly travels around the region.
There was no immediate comment from either side when contacted by the Associated Press, the news agency reported.
More to follow…