The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of judges, said in
a statement that it unanimously rejected Israel's challenges to
arrest warrant applications submitted in May by Karim Khan, the chief
prosecutor at the ICC.
"The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals,
Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes
committed from at least October 08, 2023 until at least May 20, 2024, the day
the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest," the panel
said, specifically alleging "the war crime of starvation as a method of
warfare" and "the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and
other inhumane acts."
The announcement came as the official death toll from
Israel's war on the Gaza Strip surpassed 44,000.
The ICC judges said they "found reasonable grounds to
believe" that Netanyahu and Gallant "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."
The panel also said it "found reasonable grounds to
believe that no clear military need or other justification under international
humanitarian law could be identified for the restrictions placed on access for
humanitarian relief operations."
"Finally, the Chamber assessed that there are reasonable
grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility as
civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against
the civilian population of Gaza," the judges added.
The panel issued a separate statement announcing
an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, saying it
found "reasonable grounds to believe" he is "responsible for the
crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other
form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment,
torture; taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other
forms of sexual violence."
Neither
the US nor Israel recognize the ICC's jurisdiction, and the decision is
expected to spark backlash from both countries.
Over the summer, in response to Khan's May application for
arrest warrants, the Republican-led US House of Representatives passed
legislation that would impose sanctions on the ICC. More than 40 House
Democrats supported the measure, which has not received a vote in the narrowly
Democratic Senate.
British
Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party, called the
ICC arrest warrants "long overdue" and urged the government of Keir
Starmer to "immediately endorse this decision."
"That is the bare minimum," Corbyn wrote on social
media. "Will the UK government now, finally, honor its international
obligations to prevent genocide and end all arms sales to Israel?"
