Last week, families of nine civilian victims from the Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Through their lawyer, François Zimeray, they called for the ICC to prosecute Hamas leaders for war crimes and genocide. They also urged the ICC to issue an international warrant of arrest against the Hamas leadership. The lawyer stated that the complaint concerned victims who were all civilians and that the crimes committed by the Hamas terrorists cannot be denied as they were well documented and broadcast. Jurist reports.
The complaint includes charges of war crimes and genocide linked to a Hamas attack that resulted in over 1,400 casualties, with the majority being civilians. Over 200 people were taken hostage in Gaza due to these attacks. Legal experts have stated that the attacks on civilians and hostage-taking constituted war crimes under international law. Opinions are found in varied sources.
The internationally recognized Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as certain acts that aim to destroy, in part or in full, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. These include: killing members of the group, causing severe physical or mental harm to group members, deliberately inflicting conditions likely to lead to the group’s physical destruction, imposing measures to prevent births within the group, and forcibly transferring children from the group to another group.
Last month, experts released a letter asserting that Hamas attacks were likely war crimes and might constitute genocide. The complaint comes amidst promises by Hamas officials for more attacks and escalating tensions in the region.
As Israel is also responding to the Hamas attack, it is being accused of its own war crimes. Restrictions on humanitarian aid and airstrikes, like those on the Jabalia refugee camp and ambulances near Al-Shifa hospital, have been cited as potential contraventions of international law. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has strongly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. Comments are in various international news media.
Genocide and international law scholars have expressed similar concerns, asserting that the Israeli forces could also be perpetrating the crime of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Amid the accusations of war crimes and genocide on both sides of the conflict, ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC has previously stated he would investigate allegations emanating from both Israel and Gaza. He also encouraged restraint to protect civilians and called on the international community to enforce international law. He stated that any person controlling any weapon should understand their responsibilities under law and that his office will scrutinize whether those responsibilities are being adhered to.