ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, ex-defense minister Gallant and Hamas chief

The International Criminal Court on Thursday, November 21, issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif.

“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 Hague-based ICC said in a statement.

A warrant had also been issued for Deif, it added. The arrest warrants had been classified as “secret,” to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations, the court said.

“However, the Chamber decided to release the information below since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing,” the tribunal said. “Moreover, the Chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants’ existence.”

Arrest warrants requested in May

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan in May requested the court issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Netanyahu sacked Gallant as defense minister on November 5. Khan also sought warrants against top Hamas leaders including Mohammed Deif on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The prosecutor dropped the application for Haniyeh on August 2 “because of the changed circumstances caused by Mr Haniyeh’s death” in Tehran on July 31, the ICC earlier said in a statement. According to Israel, Deif was killed by a strike on July 13 in southern Gaza, though Hamas denies he is dead.

Since Hamas conducted its October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, Israel has been fighting a war in Gaza, which the militant group rules. The war was triggered by the assault on Israel by Hamas militants, a stunning cross-border raid that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) tally of Israeli official figures.

The Hamas government’s Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said Thursday that at least 44,056 people had been killed in more than 13 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants. The toll includes 71 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 104,268 people had been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began.