Live: ICC prosecutor Khan urges all nations to cooperate with arrest warrants

21/11/2024 - 23:42

Over 44,000 dead in Gaza since start of Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian officials say

The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The Health Ministry said 44,056 people have been killed and 104,268 wounded since the start of the war. It has said the real toll is higher because thousands of bodies are buried under rubble or in areas that medics cannot access.

Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Most of the rest were released during a cease-fire last year. 

In Lebanon, the death toll from Israeli strikes and combat has surpassed 3,580 people, with more than 15,000 wounded, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. At least 51 people were killed Thursday in Israeli strikes on towns and villages across Lebanon.

21/11/2024 - 22:48

Lebanon says 12 dead, 50 wounded in Israeli strikes on south

Lebanon's health ministry said 12 people were killed and 50 others wounded in Israeli strikes on the country's south on Thursday.

The ministry in separate statements reported "seven dead and 24 wounded" in "Israeli enemy strikes" on south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, and "five dead and 26 wounded" in strikes elsewhere in southern Lebanon.

21/11/2024 - 22:31

Lebanon says 40 dead in Israeli strikes on east

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country's eastern Bekaa Valley on Thursday killed 40 people, raising an earlier toll of 22 dead.

"Israeli enemy strikes that targeted the Baalbek district" left "40 dead and 52 wounded", a health ministry statement said, listing tolls for 10 different locations. 

21/11/2024 - 21:59

UN could meet with Netanyahu despite warrant, UN says

The arrest warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza does not bar UN officials from meeting with him in the course of their work, the UN said Thursday.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Netanyahu have not spoken since the war started as a result of the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, although there have been contacts with the Israeli leader by UN officials in the region.

Guterres has been declared persona non grata by Israel, which accuses him of being biased in favor of the Palestinians. So talks between him and Netanyahu are very unlikely.

After the warrants issued Thursday by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas's military chief Mohammed Deif, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said UN policy on contacts with people facing arrest warrants dates back to a document issued in 2013.

"The rule is that there should not be any contacts between UN officials and individuals subject to arrest warrants," Dujarric said.

But limited contacts are allowed "to address fundamental issues, operational issues, and our ability to carry out our mandates", he added.

21/11/2024 - 21:56

Death toll from Israeli strikes on Syria's Palmyra rises to 82 pro-Iran fighters killed

Israeli strikes killed 82 pro-Iran fighters in the Syrian oasis city of Palmyra, some from Iraq and Lebanon, a monitor said Thursday in an updated toll.

Wednesday's death toll was "the highest due to Israeli raids on pro-Iran groups in Syria" since civil war broke out in 2011, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Britain-based monitor said the strikes targeted three sites in Palmyra – a modern city adjacent to renowned Greco-Roman ruins.

One hit a meeting of pro-Iranian groups involving leaders from Iraq's Al-Nujaba group and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The death toll has risen to "82 pro-Iran fighters", including 22 foreigners "mostly from the Iraqi Al-Nujaba movement" but also including "four from Hezbollah", the Observatory said.

It said the toll was still provisional "due to the large number of wounded". On Wednesday, the Syria defence ministry had put the death toll at 36.

21/11/2024 - 16:57

How significant are ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas's military chief Mohammed Deif.

The court said it had found "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.

FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar takes a closer look at the ICC's charges and what he says is a significant move by the court even if those accused are unlikely to ever face prosecution.

21/11/2024 - 20:15

'Politicised circumstances': ICC issues 'contentious' arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Deif

21/11/2024 - 19:42

Netanyahu says ICC warrant won't 'stop me from continuing to defend' Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court would not stop him from defending Israel.

"No outrageous anti-Israel decision will prevent us – and it will not prevent me – from continuing to defend our country in every way," Netanyahu said in a video statement. "We will not yield to pressure," he vowed. 

21/11/2024 - 19:23

Dutch foreign minister's trip to Israel cancelled, Dutch news agency ANP reports

The Dutch Foreign Minister's trip to Israel has been cancelled, Dutch News Agency ANP reported on Thursday, citing leaked plans of the trip as the reason.

Earlier on Thursday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants to, among others, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, which the Netherlands has said it would comply with if they came to the country.

21/11/2024 - 19:16

West Bank city buries three Palestinians killed in Israeli raids

Funerals were held Thursday in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin after Israeli forces killed three Palestinians during a raid in the area.

Around 100 people paid tribute to the three killed, including a paramedic and two fighters from the Islamist movement Hamas's military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

Some in the crowd waved Hamas's characteristic green flag, as they chanted.

The Israeli army said its operation killed a total of nine Palestinians in the Jenin area "in the past two days".

"You are in your house and you are targeted," said Muhammad Jasser, father of Firas, a paramedic who was buried Thursday. "They consider us not to be human beings, unfortunately. But we say, 'Thank God', we are steadfast."

In a joint statement Thursday, Israel's army and domestic security agency Shin Bet said they had been conducting a "counterterrorism operation" in the Jenin area over the past two days together with border police.

21/11/2024 - 19:12

Italy says would arrest Netanyahu if he came to country

Italy would have to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu if he came to the country, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said following the warrant issued International Criminal Court (ICC).

Crosetto told RAI television's Porta a Porta programme that he believed the ICC was "wrong" but said that if Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant "were to come to Italy, we would have to arrest them" under international law.

21/11/2024 - 18:31

At least 47 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon's Baalbek region on Thursday, governor says

At least 47 were killed and 22 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon's Baalbek-Hermel governorate on Thursday, the governor Bachir Khodr said on X, adding that rescue operations were still underway.

21/11/2024 - 18:30

Israeli attacks kill 3,583 in Lebanon since October 2023, health ministry says

Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,583 people and wounded 15,244 in Lebanon since October 2023, with 25 fatalities reported on Wednesday, the Lebanese health ministry said on Thursday.

21/11/2024 - 18:18

ICC warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant are 'extremely important', says Turkey

Turkey's top diplomat on Thursday hailed as "a very important step" an ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel's Binyamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister over Israel's actions in Gaza. 

"This decision is an extremely important step in bringing to justice the Israeli authorities who committed genocide against Palestinians," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan wrote on X.

21/11/2024 - 18:14

ICC prosecutor urges members to comply with arrest warrants

The International Criminal Court's top prosecutor Thursday urged the body's 124 members to act on arrest warrants issued against Israel's prime minister and former defence minister, plus Hamas's military chief Mohammed Deif.

The ICC has no power to enforce its warrants but technically, any country that has signed the Rome Statue would be obliged to arrest Binyamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, or Deif, if they travelled there.

"I appeal to all States Parties to live up to their commitment to the Rome Statute by respecting and complying with these judicial orders," said the ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan in a statement.

He also called on countries that are not members of the ICC to work together towards "upholding international law". 

21/11/2024 - 17:51

Canada will abide by all rulings of international courts, says PM Justin Trudeau

Canada will abide by all rulings issued by international courts, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday when asked about arrest warrants the International Criminal Court issued for senior Israel officials.

"It's really important that everyone abide by international law," Trudeau told a televised news conference. "We stand up for international law, and we will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international courts."

21/11/2024 - 17:46

Israeli strikes on Syria 'likely the deadliest' to date, says UN envoy

A bombardment that killed scores in the city of Palmyra was "likely the deadliest Israeli strike in Syria to date," a UN representative said Thursday, warning of escalating violence in the country.

At least 79 pro-Iran fighters died on Wednesday in the central city, which sits adjacent to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Once again Israeli airstrikes on Syria have increased significantly, both in frequency and scope," Najat Rochdi, UN deputy special envoy to Syria, told the Security Council. 

"Just yesterday, we saw dozens killed in a strike near Palmyra – likely the deadliest Israeli strike in Syria to date," Rochdi said.

She added that violence remains at "troubling levels" in other areas, including northwest Syria, where she cited an uptick in pro-government drone and artillery attacks.

21/11/2024 - 17:35

UK says it respects ICC independence as court issues arrest warrants

Britain respects the independence of the International Criminal Court, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson said on Thursday, after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, his ex-defence chief and a Hamas leader.

"We respect the independence of the International Criminal Court, which is the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern," the spokesperson told reporters.

"There is no moral equivalence between Israel and democracy and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terrorist organisations. We remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the devastating violence in Gaza."

21/11/2024 - 17:34

Lebanon say 22 killed in Israeli strikes in country's east

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes on several locations in the eastern Bekaa Valley killed 22 people on Thursday, with state media reporting four family members killed in one village.

"Israeli enemy" strikes on five areas in the Baalbek region killed a total of 22 people, the ministry said in separate statements, with the National News Agency reporting that a strike on the village of Maqneh killed at least four members of the same family.

21/11/2024 - 17:16

Sweden issues statement on ICC arrest warrants

"Sweden and the EU support the important work of the [ICC] court and safeguard its independence and integrity," said Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard.

Yesterday's key developments:

• US special envoy Amos Hochstein said that an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war was "now within our grasp" as he met officials to discuss a truce plan largely endorsed by Lebanon.
• Israel's military said it is fighting the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, not the Lebanese Armed Forces, after the latter said four of its soldiers had been killed in Israeli strikes.
• The United States on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza, accusing council members of cynically rejecting attempts at reaching a compromise.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)

About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:

Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. For more on the health ministry’s casualty figures, click here.