On Thursday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The international court announced that it had issued warrants for both Netanyahu and Gallant, who were sacked by the Israeli prime minister last month for the country’s attack on the Gaza Strip, after rejecting Israel’s claims to its authority.
The president of Israel reacted angrily, calling it “a dark day for humanity” and a “outrageous decision.” The warrants, according to a top Hamas leader, demonstrated that “international justice is with us.”
The announcement was made as local officials said that 44,000 people had died in the Palestinian enclave, including thousands of children.
The International Criminal Court stated the warrants were associated with “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October, 2023 until at least 20 May, 2024,” such as “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
Additionally, it stated that there were good reasons to suspect that Netanyahu and Gallant were guilty of the war crime of “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population” as “civilian superiors.”
Netanyahu and Gallant were charged with having “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.”
According to the ICC, it also discovered that their actions had made it more difficult for aid agencies to deliver food and other necessities to the enclave’s most vulnerable residents.
The U.S. State Department and Netanyahu’s office have been contacted by NBC News for comment.
Since the ICC lacks police to carry out its warrants, neither Israel nor the United States acknowledge its jurisdiction. However, they expose the officials to arrest in other nations, including most of Europe, which would make Netanyahu’s travels more challenging.
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