The Hague-based International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, CNN said.
The ICC's pre-trial chamber accused Netanyahu and Gallant of committing "crimes against humanity and war crimes" between at least October 8, 2023 and May 20, 2024 when the prosecution had submitted the applications for the arrest warrant, Xinhua news agency reported as part of a statement.
The ICC said that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant "each bear criminal responsibility as co-perpetrators" in committing war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, as well as crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
According to the statement by the court, he committed "a series of war crimes, including the intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population and depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity".
The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas' military wing, for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the territories of Israel and Palestine from at least October 7, 2023.
Despite reports that Deif had been killed by Israeli forces, the ICC said it cannot confirm this.
Prosecutor Karim Khan informed the court that available information from Israeli and Palestinian sources about his death remains inconclusive, leaving the arrest warrant active.
In May, Khan initially requested arrest warrants for five individuals: Netanyahu, Gallant, Deif, and senior Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar. However, after confirmed reports of Haniyeh and Sinwar’s deaths, the court withdrew those applications.
Israel has said it killed Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this. The prosecution indicated it would continue to gather information concerning his reported death.
Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza.
The US, Israel's main diplomatic supporter, is also not a member of the ICC. It said it "fundamentally rejects" the move.
"We continue to be deeply concerned by the manner in which the prosecutor rushed to seek arrest warrants and troubling process errors that have led to this decision," a White House National Security Council spokesperson said. "The U.S. is discussing next steps with our partners.".
Nor have superpowers Russia, China, and India ratified the ICC, the world's permanent war crimes court-backing all of the European Union, Australia, Canada, Britain, Brazil, Japan, and dozens of African and Latin American countries.
The ICC prosecutor, Khan, announced on 20 May that he would seek an arrest warrant over alleged crimes linked to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the Israeli military response in Gaza. Israeli and Hamas leaders have been dismissing claims that they committed war crimes.
It does not have its own police to conduct arrests and instead relies on its 124 member states, with only limited diplomatic means to force them if they don't want.
Khan addressed signatories of the court's founding treaty "to live up to their commitment to the Rome Statute by respecting and complying with these judicial orders".
In a statement, he said, "We count on their cooperation in this situation, as with all other situations… We also welcome collaboration with non-state parties in working towards accountability and upholding international law."
Netanyahu's office said the ICC decision was "anti-Semitic" and he would "not yield to pressure, will not be deterred" until Israel's war objectives are met.
The International Criminal Court has "lost all legitimacy," Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said, after it issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
"A dark moment for the International Criminal Court," he said on X, adding that it had issued "absurd orders without authority."
Gallant did not immediately comment.
In a statement, Hamas welcomed the warrants against Gallant and Netanyahu, and urged the court to expand accountability to all Israeli leaders.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the move was not political but a court decision and should be respected and implemented.
"The tragedy in Gaza has to stop," he added.
Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also said that the ICC decision had to be implemented, adding that Palestinians deserved justice after what he termed Israel's "war crimes" in Gaza.
The Netherlands' Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said his country acts on arrest warrants for people on its territory and will not engage in "non-essential" contacts.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, said: "The court is a dangerous joke. It is now time for the US Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body.
Israel's 13-month Gaza campaign has killed about 44,000 Palestinians and displaced almost all the enclave's population while opening up a humanitarian crisis, Gaza officials said.
It mounted the campaign in response to the October 2023, Hamas-led attack which killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, with more than 250 others taken hostage, Israel has said.
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