International court issues arrest warrant against Israeli PM Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Nov 21 issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas military commander for alleged war crimes.

Netanyahu and the former Defense minister were accused of “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024”, a statement from the court said on Nov 21.

There are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Gallant and Netanyahu “intentionally and knowingly deprived 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”, it said.

ICC prosecutors also said there were reasonable grounds to believe as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the group’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh and Deif – bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that “Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions leveled against it by ICC”, adding that Israel won’t “give in to pressure” in the defence of its citizens.

The court also decided “unanimously” to issue an arrest warrant for Hamas’s military commander Mohammed al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, “for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed” in Israel and Palestine from October 7, 2023.

An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day, and more than 200 were taken captive.

Israel claims to have killed Deif in an air raid in southern Gaza in July. But the court decided to proceed with the warrant, saying it was “not in a position to determine whether [he] has been killed or remains alive”.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan had applied for arrest warrants against the Israeli officials and three Hamas leaders in May for alleged crimes committed during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza.

Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran in July. Sinwar was killed in combat with the Israeli military in October.

Netanyahu fired Gallant earlier this month, saying he had lost confidence in him over the management of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.