THE HAGUE, Nov 21 (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza”.
Judges said there were also reasonable grounds to believe the blockade on Gaza and lack of food, water, electricity, fuel and medical supplies “created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza, which resulted in the death of civilians, including children, due to malnutrition and dehydration”.
The decision was met with outrage in Israel, which called it shameful and absurd. Gaza residents expressed hope it would help end the violence and bring those responsible for war crimes to justice. Hamas welcomed the warrants against the Israelis, and a senior official told Reuters it was a first step towards justice.
The warrant for Masri lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, and also charges of rape and the taking of hostages.
Israel has said it killed Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this. The prosecution indicated it would continue to gather information with respect to his reported death.
Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza.
The United States, Israel’s main diplomatic supporter, is also not a member of the ICC. It said it “fundamentally rejects” the move.
“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said, adding that the U.S. is discussing next steps with its partners.
Global powers Russia, China and India have also not signed onto the ICC, the world’s permanent war crimes court, which is backed by all of the European Union, Australia, Canada, Britain, Brazil, Japan and dozens of African and Latin American countries.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan had announced on May 20 that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the Israeli military response in Gaza. Israeli and Hamas leaders have dismissed allegations that they committed war crimes.
The court does not have its own police force to carry out arrests and relies on its 124 member states for that, with only limited diplomatic means to force them if they do not want to.
Khan called on signatories of the court’s founding treaty “to live up to their commitment to the Rome Statute by respecting and complying with these judicial orders.”
In a statement he said “we count on their cooperation in this situation, as with all other situations… We also welcome collaboration with non-states parties in working towards accountability and upholding international law.”
