ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas leader

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a ceremony for the 70th cohort of military combat officers, at an army base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a ceremony for the 70th cohort of military combat officers, at an army base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

Jake Johnson
November 21, 2024Bank

After months of deliberation, the International Criminal Court on Thursday formally issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.

The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of judges, said in a statement that it unanimously rejected Israel's challenges to arrest warrant applications submitted in May by Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor at the ICC.

"The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest," the panel said, specifically alleging "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare" and "the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts."

The announcement came as the official death toll from Israel's war on the Gaza Strip surpassed 44,000.

The ICC judges said they "found reasonable grounds to believe" that Netanyahu and Gallant "intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity." The panel also said it "found reasonable grounds to believe that no clear military need or other justification under international humanitarian law could be identified for the restrictions placed on access for humanitarian relief operations."

"Finally, the Chamber assessed that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population of Gaza," the judges added.

The panel issued a separate statement announcing an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, saying it found "reasonable grounds to believe" he is "responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture; taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other forms of sexual violence."