The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued several arrest warrants on Thursday for actors involved in the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, and a Hamas official.
The court accuses them of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the over-year-long war in Gaza which followed Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack. Since then, Israel's military ground and air campaigns in Gaza have killed over 43,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and much of the territory is destroyed.
United Nations officials have warned that with more than 1.8 million Palestinians there experiencing "extremely critical" levels of hunger, famine is imminent. Israel has been accused of blocking food and humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza. Israel has said it is committed to delivering aid and humanitarian assistance.
The court issued warrants of arrest against Netanyahu and 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 top court found that both Netanyahu and Gallant "each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts," as well as bearing criminal responsibility as "civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population."
The International Criminal Court is recognized by 124 member nations, notably excluding the United States and Israel. As Israel is not a member, the court has no authority to compel Israeli officials to appear. Lacking its own enforcement mechanisms, the court depends on member nations to cooperate in executing arrest warrants, which they are obligated to enforce.
Newsweek has reached out to the Israeli Prime Minister's office for comment via email on Thursday.
Netanyahu called the ICC's arrest warrant, an "antisemitic decision," adding that "Israel utterly rejects the false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body." In the statement, he called chief prosecutor Karim Khan, "corrupt."
U.S. President Joe Biden also expressed strong support for Israel, calling the request for warrants "disgraceful" and reaffirming Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas. The U.S. is a strong ally of Israel.
The ICC has issued arrest warrants for other high-profile politicians and figures, including Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023. The warrant accused Putin of war crimes, specifically the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia during the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
This fall, Putin arrived in ICC member state Mongolia for a meeting with the country's leader. He was not arrested or detained.
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