The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three top leaders of Hamas. These warrants are related to the October attack on Israel, which led to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.
ICC prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan announced that Netanyahu and Gallant are being accused of committing war crimes. These crimes include using starvation as a weapon, causing suffering to civilians on purpose, intentionally attacking and directing attacks against civilians, extermination, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
“According to Khan, my office has gathered evidence to support the claim that Israel intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of essential items needed for survival. This evidence includes interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses, authenticated video, photo and audio material, satellite imagery, and statements from alleged perpetrator groups.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health reported on social media that since the beginning of the war that followed the Hamas attack on October 7th, a total of 35,386 Palestinians have lost their lives and 79,366 others have been injured.
Rumors have been circulating since last month about arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Israel has been using diplomatic channels to try to prevent these warrants.
Khan also said that charges have been filed against Yahya Siwar, who is the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, who is the commander of Hamas’s military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh, who is the leader of Hamas’s political bureau.
Khan stated that all three individuals were considered to be “criminally responsible” for committing multiple war crimes. These crimes include extermination, murder, taking hostages, torture, and other inhumane acts. They also engaged in cruel treatment of prisoners and showed a lack of respect for the dignity of captives.
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“According to Khan’s statement, we believe that the crimes against humanity were committed as part of a large-scale and organized attack on the civilian population of Israel by Hamas and other armed groups, following their organizational policies,” Khan said. “We believe that some of these crimes are still happening today.”
The Israeli military announced on Friday that they have found the bodies of three individuals who were kidnapped during the October 7th attack and subsequently killed while trying to escape from the Nova music festival.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and other Israeli leaders strongly criticized the arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallant, describing them as extremely unfair and unacceptable.
“This action, if interpreted negatively, is a decision made by one side that supports terrorists globally and goes against the fundamental principles of the court, such as the principle of complementarity and other legal norms,” Herzog stated.
“Comparing these terrible terrorists to the democratically elected government of Israel, which is committed to defending and protecting its citizens in accordance with international law, is unacceptable and should not be supported by anyone.”
Bezalel Smotrich, who is Israel’s finance minister, said that the arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallan are like arrest warrants for all of us in Israel. He believes that these warrants should result in the court being taken apart.
Benny Gantz, who could be a political opponent of Netanyahu, described Hamas as a violent organization and criticized the arrest warrants against Israelis as morally wrong.
Hamas also criticized the warrants issued against its leaders, claiming that it is a victim of war crimes committed by Israel.
“Hamas strongly criticizes the actions of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court who is trying to treat the victim and the perpetrator equally by issuing arrest warrants against several leaders of the Palestinian resistance,” stated Hamas.
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his opinion on the ICC’s warrants, stating that they incorrectly imply that Israel and Hamas share equal responsibility for the war in Gaza. He believes that Israel is acting in defense of its sovereignty.
“The ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is very shocking,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “I want to make it clear: No matter what this prosecutor might suggest, Israel and Hamas are not equal in any way.” We will always support Israel and stand against anything that threatens its security.
At the same time, the Council of American-Islamic Relations, which is the largest Muslim civil rights group in the country, asked Biden not to get involved in the ICC’s attempt to prosecute Israeli leaders.
“The organization said that just like President Biden acknowledged that the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine was ‘justified,’ the president should also acknowledge the arrest warrant applications sought by the ICC prosecutor against Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza.”
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