The International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan recently announced that he has applied for arrest warrants against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and senior Hamas leaders for crimes against humanity committed during the Israel-Hamas War. The officials face a broad series of charges linked to crimes against humanity and war crimes as outlined by the Rome Statute.
The charges against the Israeli leaders pertain to their intentional and systematic deprivation of the civilian population in Gaza of vital resources, by implementing a total siege on October 8 and restricting essential supplies through border crossings. Gallant confirmed on October 9 that a full siege had been placed on Gaza, which included a total blockade of food, water, and electricity. The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant encompass:
- Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare;
- Wilfully causing suffering, or serious injury to body or health, or cruel treatment;
- Wilful killing or Murder;
- Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population;
- Extermination and/or murder, including in the context of starvation;
- Persecution; and
- Other inhumane acts.
Approximately 35,000 Gazans have died since the onset of Israel’s military operations, as reported by Gaza’s health ministry.
Khan also seeks the arrest of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Commander-in-Chief Mohammed Deif, and political head Ismail Haniyeh over multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during and after the October 7 attacks in Israel. The prosecutor alleges the three planned these attacks, resulting in the death of hundreds of civilians. The allegations levelled against the three encompass:
- Extermination as a crime against humanity;
- Murder as a crime against humanity;
- Taking hostages as a war crime;
- Rape and sexual violence in the context of captivity;
- Torture in the context of captivity;
- Cruel treatment in the context of captivity; and
- Outrages upon personal dignity in the context of captivity.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed during the October 7 attacks, and a minimum of 245 people were taken hostage.
In retaliation to Khan’s application, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katza branded the proposed warrant as an “outrageous decision” and an “unrestrained frontal assault on the victims of October 7th and our 128 hostages in Gaza.” He also asserted that, “No power in the world will prevent us from bringing back all our hostages and toppling the Hamas terror regime.”
The ICC will now review Khan’s requests for the aforementioned warrants and decide whether to grant them. They will do this in light of recent events, including warnings from the head of the UN food program of impending famine in northern Gaza, calls from UN leaders like Secretary-General António Guterres and Human Rights Special Rapporteur Volker Türk for Israel to refrain from a full-scale invasion of Rafah, and the issuing of provisional measures against Israel by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to prevent breaches of the Genocide Convention.