The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif.
The court has “reasonable grounds to believe” that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” of the following crimes: “The war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare”as well as “crimes against humanity”, among which “killings, persecution and other inhumane acts”, and supervision of“attacks intentionally directed against the civilian population” she reports in a press release.
As for Mohammed Deif, architect of the attack of October 7, 2023, whom the Israeli army claims to have killed in a strike on the Gaza Strip on July 13, but of whom the judges say they have not obtained proof of death, the court said, in another press release, that it had “reasonable grounds to believe” that he is responsible, as leader of Hamas, for the “crimes against humanity such as murder, extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as war crimes such as murder, cruel treatment, torture, taking of hostages, attacks on personal dignity, rape and other forms of sexual violence.
The arrest warrants have been filed « secrets »in order to protect witnesses and ensure the conduct of investigations, the court said. But “the chamber considers that it is in the interest of the victims and their families that they are informed of the existence of the warrants”she explained.
These arrest warrants had been requested by the institution’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, for crimes committed in Israel and Gaza since October 7, 2023, six months ago, May 20, 2024.
