The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court has said today he is seeking
arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav
Gallant - as well as three Hamas leaders.
In an interview on Monday, Karim Khan said the warrants are for war crimes and crimes
against humanity over the terror group's deadly October 7 attack and Israel's subsequent
war in the Gaza Strip.
He said warrants were being sought for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab
Ibrahim al-Masri (aka Mohammed Deif), the leader of the Al Qassem Brigades -
Hamas' military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' political leader.
Khan told CNN that the charges against the trio include 'extermination, murder, taking of
hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention.'
'The world was shocked on the 7th of October when people were ripped from their
bedrooms, from their homes, from the different kibbutzim in Israel,' Khan told CNN host
Christiane Amanpour, adding that 'people have suffered enormously.'
In a separate statement, he said that he saw for himself 'the devastating scenes of these
attacks and the profound impact of the unconscionable crimes charged in the applications
filed today.
'Speaking with survivors, I heard how the love within a family, the deepest bonds between
a parent and a child, were contorted to inflict unfathomable pain through calculated
cruelty and extreme callousness. These acts demand accountability.'
He also said the ICC was applying for warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for their part in
the assault on the Gaza strip that continues today.
'We have applied for warrants – of course the judges must determine whether or not to
issue them, but we have applied today,' he told Amanpour.
He said the charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include 'crimes of causing
extermination, causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian
relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.'
Speaking of the Israeli actions, Khan said in a statement that 'the effects of the use of
starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment
against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known.
'They include malnutrition, dehydration, profound suffering and an increasing number of
deaths among the Palestinian population, including babies, other children, and women,' he
added.
The United Nations and other aid agencies have repeatedly accused Israel of hindering aid
deliveries throughout the war. Israel denies this, saying there are no restrictions on aid
entering Gaza and accusing the UN of failing to distribute aid.
The UN says aid workers have repeatedly come under Israeli fire, and also says ongoing
fighting and a security vacuum have impeded deliveries.
Israel launched its war in response to an October 7 cross-border attack by Hamas that
killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage.
The Israeli offensive has killed around 35,000 Palestinians, at least half of them women
and children, according to the latest estimates by Gaza health officials.
The Israeli offensive has also triggered a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, displacing roughly
80 percent of the population and leaving hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of
starvation, according to UN officials.
The prosecutor must request the warrants from a pre-trial panel of three judges, who take
on average two months to consider the evidence and determine if the proceedings can
move forward.
Israel is not a member of the court, and even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu
and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution.
But Khan's announcement deepens Israel's isolation as it presses ahead with its war, and
the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.
Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be hiding in Gaza as Israel tries to hunt them down.
But Haniyeh, the supreme leader of the Islamic militant group, is based in Qatar and
frequently travels across the region.
There was no immediate comment from either side when approached by the Associated
Press, the news agency reported.
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