Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), on Friday, called on judges to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several prominent Hamas officials, according to a report from Al Jazeera.
The call comes as Israel’s war on Gaza approaches its 11th month, with Gaza’s Ministry of Health reporting over 40,000 deaths and nearly 100,000 injuries from the ongoing war.
In court filings made public on Friday, Khan emphasized the urgent need for action, maintaining that any delay in addressing the allegations undermines the rights of victims affected by the Gaza war.
The prosecutor’s request includes warrants for Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders: Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh.
Khan’s request follows a series of attacks on civilians, including the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel and the subsequent Israeli war in Gaza. He asserts that the ICC has jurisdiction over alleged war crimes committed by Israeli nationals in the occupied Palestinian territories and has dismissed objections from various governments, including Israel’s defense of its war on Gaza.
ICC prosecutors argue there is significant evidence pointing to the criminal responsibility of both Israeli and Hamas leaders. Netanyahu has denounced the ICC’s actions as a “disgrace” and an unfair attack on Israel, while Hamas has criticized Khan’s request, accusing him of equating “the victim with the executioner.”
Hamas’s former leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Iran in July, and Mohammed al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The ICC has not commented on these developments.
The arrest warrant would be of little use as Israel is a non-member in the ICC. Even if the warrants are issued, immediate prosecution remains unlikely. However, the warrants could pose challenges for international travel for the leaders.