International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced his intention to seek arrest warrants for several high-profile figures, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders. The charges levelled against them are war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to Prosecutor Khan these individuals, along with others, are implicated in a series of atrocities committed in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine since 7 October 2023. The list of accused extends to include prominent figures like Hamas leaders Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh.
The charges brought forth by the ICC prosecutor range from extermination and murder to taking hostages, sexual violence, torture, inhumane acts, and outrages upon personal dignity.
Charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, causing great suffering, willful killing, intentionally attacking civilian populations, extermination, murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. These crimes are said to have occurred in the State of Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip, since 8 October 2023.
The announcement of arrest warrants is the beginning of a potentially lengthy legal process.
Meanwhile, the latest Israeli attacks in the Nuseirat refugee camp killed 31 Palestinian civilians. Despite international condemnations, Israel continued to attack residential buildings, with the latest bombardment targeting homes in Beit Lahiya’s Mashrou neighbourhood.
The al-Awda Hospital near Jabalia has completely run out of drinking water. With key crossings such as Rafah and Karem Abu Salem blocked by Israeli forces, the flow of essential supplies has been impeded.
According to the Wafa news agency, three Palestinians were taken hostage by Israeli forces in Biddu and Beit Ijza villages. In separate incidents, Israeli forces detained 21 Palestinians in Hebron and three in Ramallah.
In its war on Gaza launched on 7 October under the guise of going after Hamas, Israel has killed at least 35,456 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 79,476 others. Israeli forces have destroyed nearly 75 percent of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, schools, and places of worship. They have also blocked the entry of essential aid into the occupied enclave, exacerbating the starvation of its already suffering population of 2.5 million people, half of them are children.