The International Criminal Court announced on Monday its intention to seek arrest warrants for senior leaders of both Hamas and Israel in relation to the Oct. 7 attack and the subsequent conflict.
The ICC will target top Hamas officials including Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, the head of the military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau. Additionally, it will seek warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s application for the arrest warrants will now be reviewed by a panel of ICC judges.
In a statement, Khan stated that his office has “reasonable grounds” to believe that the Hamas leaders are criminally responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. They face charges including extermination as a crime against humanity, murder as a crime against humanity, taking hostages as a war crime, rape and other sexual violence, torture, other inhumane acts, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity.
“My Office also submits there are reasonable grounds to believe that hostages taken from Israel have been kept in inhumane conditions, and that some have been subject to sexual violence, including rape, while being held in captivity. We have reached that conclusion based on medical records, contemporaneous video and documentary evidence, and interviews with victims and survivors,” continued the statement.
Netanyahu and Gallant are accused of crimes including starvation of civilians, willfully causing great suffering, willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, and extermination.
Khan also noted that his office might seek additional arrest warrants if deemed necessary.
Despite these developments, Israeli leaders have denied allegations of committing war crimes, although Gaza’s 2.2 million residents are currently facing severe food insecurity due to the conflict.
Last month, both U.S. and Israeli leaders condemned the potential ICC arrest warrants against Israeli officials amid reports that such warrants were imminent. Neither the U.S. nor Israel are members of the ICC.
“The possibility that they will issue arrest warrants for war crimes against IDF commanders and state leaders, this possibility is a scandal on a historic scale,” Netanyahu said last month. U.S. National Security Council coordinator John Kirby echoed these sentiments, stating, “We don’t believe the ICC has any jurisdiction here. We don’t support this investigation.”
