The International Criminal Court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, whom Israel says he was killed during an airstrike in July.
The judges found that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that” Netanyahu and Gallant “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population of Gaza of items essential to their survival, including food, water, medicines and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.” from October 8, 2023 to at least May 20, 2024”, when the ICC prosecutor filed requests for arrest warrantsthe ICC said in a statement on Thursday.
“This conclusion is based on the role of Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant in obstructing humanitarian assistance in violation of international humanitarian law and their failure to facilitate relief by all means at their disposal,” it said. declared the ICC.
The judges of the UN tribunal “found that their conduct led to disruption of the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide food and other essential goods to the needy population in Gaza.” The aforementioned restrictions, along with the power cut and reduced fuel supply, have also had serious consequences on the availability of water in Gaza and the ability of hospitals to provide medical care. »
Israeli officials condemned the ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in May, and they were quick to blast the issuance of the warrants on Thursday.
Netanyahu’s office issued a scathing statement dismissing the ICC as anti-Semitic and saying its chief prosecutor had requested the arrest warrants in the first place only to distract attention from sexual misconduct allegations.
“Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and accusations brought against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a biased and discriminatory political body,” Netanyahu’s office said. “There is nothing more just than the war Israel is waging in Gaza… after the terrorist organization Hamas launched a deadly attack against it, committing the largest massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. »
“No anti-Israeli decision will prevent the State of Israel from protecting its citizens,” the statement said, adding that Netanyahu himself “will not bow to pressure, will not back down and will not back down until all war objectives that Israel will not have achieved. set at the start of the campaign are achieved.
Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing whom Israel says it killed over the summer, was accused by ICC judges of being “responsible for crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other forms of sexual violence; as well as war crimes of murder, cruel treatment and torture; take hostages; attacks on personal dignity; and rape and other forms of sexual violence,” in connection with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that sparked the current war.
IDF via AP
Around 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack and some 250 others were taken hostage.
Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied the killing of Deif in an Israeli airstrike in July.
This breaking news will be updated.