The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has asked the court's Pre-Trial Chamber to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for "war crimes and crimes against humanity" in the Gaza Strip from 8 October 2023. The same measure was requested for the leaders of Hamas.

«Based on the evidence collected and examined by my Office, - we read in the statement by prosecutor Karim Khan -, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, and Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Minister of Defense, are criminally responsible for the following. War crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza Strip) since at least 8 October 2023; starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime; intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health or cruel treatment as a war crime; intentional killing or killing as a war crime; intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime; extermination and/or murder; persecution as a crime against humanity; other inhumane acts constitute crimes against humanity. We believe that the alleged crimes against humanity were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population in accordance with state policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue today ."

The Hamas leaders whose arrest has been requested are Yahya Sinwar (head of the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri , more commonly known as Deif (commander in chief of the Hamas wing Hamas military force, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades), and Ismail Haniyeh (head of the Hamas political bureau). These are the charges: extermination as a crime against humanity; murder as a crime against humanity and as a war crime; the taking of hostages; rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity and also as war crimes; torture as a crime against humanity and also as a war crime.

(Unioneonline/L)

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